The Pendragon Legacy
by Tubagirl2007
Summary: Two cries filled the castle, one born of magic and one born for magic: the Pendragon twins. Each has their destiny, and each will do what they need to to fulfill these destinies, even if it means breaking their father's heart. When together, Arthur and Genevieve can do anything. So, why does Uther separate them? Slight A/U where Arthur has a twin sister.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hey everyone! This is my new story and will be centered around the television series Merlin on BBC. I hope you enjoy it!**

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Screams echoed throughout the castle, causing everyone to be on edge. The servants avoided the room, the nobles hovered around the staircases. Everyone was anticipating the heir to the throne of Camelot. The king had sorcerers and sorceresses standing by, waiting to step in if something went wrong. Suddenly, the screaming stopped, followed by the cry of a newborn babe. Then the screaming started again, lasting for only a minute when another cry broke out. The nobles began to cheer, an heir had been born. The servants smiled to each other. Then, everything went wrong. A rage filled bellow echoed through the castle. Rage that hadn't been heard in a long time. The magicians of the court rushed into the room, lead by Gaius, the physician closest to the king. What they found in the room tore them apart. The Queen was laying in the bed, eyes unseeing; the king covered her, wailing; off to the side stood two servants, the two that had been on standby to help with the birth. They were both holding small bundles in their arms. Gaius pushed this information to the back of his mind to be dealt with later, right now his concern was the wailing royal.

"Sire," he approached the king, motioning his compatriots to stay where they were. He touched the shoulder of the king, who immediately lashed out at the intrusion to his grief.

"Ygraine is dead. Magic killed her." And with those words, Uther Pendragon, King of Camelot, began a war on magic.

After Uther said this, Gaius was forced to turn his attention to the two bundles. He motioned for the two servants to follow him. They quickly made their way to the physicians' chambers, where he would properly examine the two bundles. As he examined them, a boy and a girl, he could feel the magical power resonating within the baby girl. He thought to himself that she would be a powerful sorceress.

Uther stormed into the room, anger rolling off him. Gaius solemnly greeted his king. "Are they healthy?" was his only question to Gaius. Gaius simply nodded, too scared to talk. "Camelot will welcome its Princes with open arms." Uther made to leave the room when the baby girl began to cry, causing a glass vial to break. Uther spun around to face Gaius. "Who did that?"

"Your daughter, sire," and with that simple statement, Uther entire world was shattered. Camelot did not have two princes, and its princess had magic. He had already written his decree that magic was outlawed and all magic users would be put to death, but he could not kill Ygraine's daughter. To do so would have killed his wife all over again. He made up his mind, then and there, that his daughter would not have magic, even if he had to beat it out of her.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Genevieve and Arthur were racing to the woods, each urging the other on. It was their twelfth birthday and their father had released them from their duties to spend the day however they wished before the banquet in their honor. Genevieve was excited for the day because it meant no beatings from her father. She had been doing better on not using her magic. She still used it, unintentionally, but she had gotten better at repressing it. But today, she got to focus on her brother, and celebrating their birthday.

They spent the day in the woods, romping around and enjoying the time together. Uther often kept them separated, claiming that they had different duties, but Genevieve knew it was because of her magic. They were laughing as Arthur recounted stories to her of the most recent training session, when suddenly bandits surrounded them. Arthur had his sword with him, but it wasn't a full size sword and was intended for training only. Instead of letting that hamper him, he decided to charge headfirst into the fray, his only thought being to protect his sister. Genevieve thought he was distracted enough to attempt to use her magic. She saw a branch lying nearby and used her magic to bring it over to her before she began to pummel the bandit in front of her.

Unexpectedly, Genevieve heard the thundering of hooves from behind her. Dread began to fill her as she thought reinforcements had arrived for the bandits when an arrow abruptly slammed into the callous man in front of her. She whipped her head around and saw the proud colors of Camelot. Her spirits soared as the knights of Camelot came to their rescue, at the front, her father. She felt her heart sink into her stomach as the dread that had dissipated long ago returned in full force. One of the knights scooped her up onto his horse, in order to better protect the Princess and began to move swiftly back to Camelot.

When they had returned to Camelot, she was immediately escorted back to her chamber, where an armed guard was immediately placed, not allowing her to escape to ever so familiar confines of her room and sneak to Morgana's rooms, where both Morgana and Gwen would be preparing for the banquet tonight. So, she sat, angrily, knowing that she would be "escorted for her own protection" to the banquet tonight and would not be allowed to leave her father's side.

A servant entered the chambers and quickly helped her get ready for the banquet before retreating from the room, leaving Genevieve to stew in her room again.

Uther came storming in, rage swirling around him as it tended to do. "Did you use magic?" He demanded. Genevieve shook her head, knowing that to fully convince her father she had to look fearful. It was a well practiced look that fooled her father. The rage died a little as he regarded his daughter, who looked more like him then his beloved Ygraine. He turned away from the girl before he could become lost in the past that haunted him every day.

Four years passed from that day without incident. Uther summoned his court, along with his children. Everyone was wary, unsure as to why Uther would bother to call for the full court. It was then that Uther announced that Genevieve would be leaving Camelot, acting as his emissary to the other kingdoms, helping keep relations where they were. Genevieve knew that this was Uther's way of distancing himself from her and what he had done to her. His way of dealing with the guilt that covered him and everything he did. A banquet was also announced for that evening, to give the a Princess a proper send off.

Genevieve returned to her chambers, the reality that she would be leaving setting in. Tears filled her eyes. She would be leaving Arthur, her twin, her other half! How could her father do this to her? She raged, she screamed, she threw things all around her room. But she did not use her magic. She resisted using her magic.

When she had thrown everything she could, she sat in her chair, crying. This was how Arthur found her when he cautiously entered her room, having been waiting for her to finish her rampage. What he saw made him even madder at their father. Her room was utterly destroyed, items strewn everywhere. Even worse, sobs wracked his sister's body. He had never seen her cry, not even after the beatings she received from their father (which Uther had tried to hide from the young prince, unsuccessfully). He immediately crossed the room and gathered his sister in his arms, allowing her to cry into his tunic.

The twins sat there, mourning the loss that was upon them. A small knock came from the door before Morgana poked her head in. Arthur gently motioned her inside and saw that Guinevere was not far behind. The two made their way over to where the twins were sitting, Genevieve's sobs quieter then they had been, almost as if she was aware that there were others in the room with them. Everyone say in semi-silence, allowing the princess to release the flood of emotions that had overtaken her. When she finally finished crying, she looked up and saw that she was surrounded by her friends. She managed a small smile, seeing the support surrounding her. She would miss these people, her friends, no, her family.

Shortly thereafter, everyone left to get ready for the banquet. Genevieve's maidservant entered into the room but was quickly dismissed by Genevieve, who was already dressed for the banquet. With her head held high, she left her room and walked through the corridors, heading to the great hall. The guards opened the door for her, and she entered into the room, radiantly. Her father sending her away, while heartbreaking, would finally allow her to be free. With this thought, she was able to get through the banquet.

Morning came. The carriage was packed, and the royal household was waiting outside for the princess to come out so they could say goodbye to her. Morgana was doing her best not to cry while Arthur stood, stone faced. If Genevieve saw him cry, she would refuse to leave, and thereby anger their father. It would be safer for her to leave, he knew this, but he didn't want her to leave. So he stood there, silent, as his twin climbed into the carriage, to leave Camelot for who knows how long.

Once Genevieve was secure in the carriage, and away from the eyes of her family, she allowed herself to cry. The rustling of the carriage covered her sobs, giving her the privacy she had longed for her entire life, but had never realized what the cost of such privacy would be. And the cost was too high.

Three years passed without incident. Genevieve traveled from kingdom to kingdom, helping keep a reliable peace between Camelot and it's neighboring kingdoms. But, every chance she got, she snuck out of whatever castle she was visiting at the time and would find the Druids, where she would sit with them and learn all she could. Her control of her magic grew with practice. She didn't have her father to be afraid of anymore, which helped her progress in her magical studies. It was during one of these times when she snuck out that she met a charming knight.

She had decided to walk to the Druid camp, dressed in her plainest dress that would allow her to blend into the community. It was on her return that she was attacked by bandits. She couldn't use her magic, because that would mean that she would have to kill them all, and she refused to kill using her magic. She had left her sword behind in the castle, because the Druids didn't like weapons. It was then that a plainly dressed man came galloping in, sword swinging. He quickly dispatched the bandits, injuring many and allowing those who fled to flee. When he turned to face Genevieve, both were awestruck. The mutual attraction between the two could not be denied.

"I'm Gwaine, and you are?" He introduced himself.

Genevieve dropped into a curtsy. "I'm Genevieve, sir," she said, still in awe of the man standing in front of her. His skill with a sword could rival her brother's, and quite possibly her father's. And the fact that he had come to her rescue showed his character in her mind. Plus, the man was gorgeous.

"Well, Genevieve, a beautiful woman like yourself shouldn't be walking around the forest by herself. We live in dangerous times. Where are you headed?"

"Back to the castle."

"And why would a beautiful lady like yourself want to be there?" He asked.

"I would much rather be home, but my father sent me here."

"And who is your father?"

"Uther Pendragon, King of Camelot." She couldn't help but feel angry at her father for sending her away, and that anger showed in her answer. She didn't miss the look Gwaine gave her when she mentioned her father, but just as quickly as the look appeared, it disappeared.

"Why would he send you away?" He muttered to himself, but it was just loud enough for Genevieve to hear.

"Why else would a father send their child away? Because he feels guilty."

"And what would he have to feel guilty about? Did he kill the love of your life?" He was angered himself. A father should protect his children, not send them away because of guilt.

"No. He did something much worse." And she left it at that, not wanting to divulge her deepest secret to someone who could potentially betray her. She wouldn't be betrayed again, and she would pay any cost that would ensure that.

Gwaine escorted her back to the castle, and joined her entourage, becoming her personal bodyguard at her own request.

Three years after she met Gwaine, they were back in the same kingdom where they had first met. They had grown close, very close. In fact, they were in love. Madly and ridiculously in love. It was a love so pure that it was written in the stars. There were no secrets between them. Gwaine had learned about her magic just a few months after meeting her, quite by accident. He had been scared at first, but he had allowed her to explain, and he listened. After she had explain, through tears, everything that had led to her where she was that day. He held her, comforted her, and began to fall in love with her, this strong woman who was crying in front of him, showing more strength than any man he had ever met.

When her official duties for the day had been completed, Gwaine stole her away, leading her back into the forest with a picnic in hand. They enjoyed their time eating and joking around with each other, with Genevieve performing small bits of magic.

"Gen, my love," Gwaine began. "We have known each other for three years now. To the day, in fact."

Genevieve gave a small laugh before responding, "I remember quite well, Gwaine. You swooped in and saved this damsel in distress."

"Ha, as if you could ever be a damsel in distress. But, that day was the start of the happiest years of my life, short as it is. And, as you might have noticed, we are back where we first met, where you first told me that your father sent you away and I wondered what kind of man could have possibly sent you away. And I vowed that day that I would never leave you of my own free will, or send you away. You deserve so much better then that.

"Then, I saw you use magic, and I was so scared at first. I had been taught growing up that magic was evil, and all that used it were evil. And I believed that, until I saw you use it, until you told me how you had been born with the ability to use magic. And then you showed me the beauty and the good in magic. You trusted me enough to keep your secret, and I have and I always will, because I love you.

"So, Genevieve Pendragon, do me the greatest honor and marry me?" He held out a simple band, tears already forming in his eyes as he looked at the woman he had fallen in love with, hoping that she would give him the answer he never thought he would seek. When she tearfully, and joyfully, began to nod, saying yes, he too began to cry, overcome with the joy that this woman who had stolen his heart wanted to be in his life for the rest of their lives.

They celebrated that night, with the rest of the Camelot entourage by their side. They had watched their princess fall in love with this man, and had finally seen their princess happy again. They respected this man, and were happy for the couple.

All was well, until an official letter from Camelot arrived for Genevieve. The letter stated that her brother was on death's door, and she was being recalled to Camelot, immediately.


	3. Chapter 2

Genevieve and her company pushed hard to get to Camelot as quickly as possible, all fearing the worst. Genevieve was out of her mind with worry, working herself into a tizzy, so much so that the group had to stop early, finding an inn where they could rest, and allow the Princess to recover from the illness that had overcome her. She was laying up in the room, buried beneath as many blankets as possible. Gwaine had been sitting with her, but had decided to go get a drink. Little did the small party know that just outside, coming in from a hunt, was the person they were all worried about.

"You know what you need after a hard day's hunt?" Arthur asked his servant who was sitting on the horse beside him.

"Sleep," was his response. Merlin hated how Arthur always dragged him along on these hunts but allowed his sister to stay behind. Isabel had the lovely job of taking care of the chores back in the castle while he had to bumble his way through forests, helping the prince hunt innocent creatures.

Arthur looked over at his servant before scoffing. "A mice cold tankard of mead." He looked so pleased with himself. Their hunt had gone well, despite Merlin attempting to scare off every animal in the area. Then again, if Isabel had come along, there would have been no hunting. It seemed like she was clumsier than her brother, if that was even possible.

"Mead?" Merlin questioned, unimpressed with the young man riding in front of him now. Despite the fact that only a month earlier the prince had almost died, he decided that now was the perfect time to hunt, and thanks to an overgrown lizard, Merlin had to follow Arthur and protect him.

They had stumbled on a small village that had a tavern in it, so Arthur all but marched to the tavern, looking forward to a drink. "No better place to measure the mood of your people than the local tavern," he told Merlin with a grin, dismounting his horse.

"This is one of those moments where I tell you something isn't a good idea and you ignore me, isn't it?" Merlin questioned as he dismounted his own horse and followed Arthur.

"You're learning, Merlin. Slowly, but you're learning. Now, remember, in here, you're not my servant, I'm just a simple peasant like everyone else." The pointed look to Merlin left no question that Arthur truly believed that he could pass as a normal peasant.

"Simple part's right," Merlin muttered under his breath. Arthur couldn't understand what had been said, but assumed that it had been derogatory in nature.

"What?" Came the imperious demand.

"I said the sun is very bright," Merlin covered quickly.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." Arthur didn't believe his servant, but he really wanted that mead, so he chose to ignore whatever it had been that his servant had uttered and make his way into the tavern. Both were completely oblivious to the carriage parked to the side of the tavern, and the amount of horses.

Inside the tavern and inn, Genevieve woke up suddenly, sensing a powerful magical being approaching. Ignoring how she felt, she cautiously made her way downstairs, dressed appropriately for a Princess for once.

Arthur and Merlin seated themselves at the only wooden table available, with Arthur looking around at the people inside. The owner of the tavern approached the two men. "Afternoon," she cheerfully greeted. "What'll it be?"

"Er..." Arthur responded, not sure how to react to this woman.

"Mmm... You're a handsome fellow," she said, looking at Merlin.

"Well, you wouldn't be the first to say it," Arthur arrogantly told her, always assuming that any compliments were directed towards him.

"Oh, no, sorry. I was talking about your friend here." That response deflated the prince, who sat stunned, looking at the woman in front of them.

"Him?!"

"Thank you!" Came Merlin's pleases response. He too was used to Arthur being the one to receive the compliments between the two of them. However, Merlin also knew that most of those compliments were due to Arthur being the prince.

"Two tankards of mead, please!" Arthur finally ordered, still flustered at what was occurring. As the woman bustled off to fill the order, Merlin looked at Arthur.

"I was wrong, coming here was a great idea!" Merlin stated, still pleased with the turn of events.

The door to the tavern swung open with a loud bang, startling all within. Genevieve had finally finished descending the staircase and stood in silence as she saw the burly man stalk in, throwing dishes that a waitress had been holding. "Afternoon, Mary," he sneered at the keeper, a nice woman who had been helping Gwaine take care of the Princess. "Business looks good," he said with a glance around the crowded room, his eyes briefly stopping on Genevieve, calculating her worth based on how she was dressed, assuming that she was there to have her time bought.

"We have our better days," Mary responded neutrally.

"I don't suppose you'd begrudge me my share, then." Mary threw a handful of coins his way, disgust written in her body language. "And the rest?" He demanded?

"That's all we got," she bravely replied. Genevieve began to slowly look around the room, trying to find Gwaine, when her eyes found a familiar head of blond hair. She slowly and cautiously moved to get a better look and see if it really was Arthur.

However, before she could move far, the burly man grabbed Mary by her dress and pulled her close, a small dagger pointed to her chest. "I'll not ask again!" He growled.

The familiar mop of hair stood up and faced the man. "Take your hands off her," Arthur demanded, unaware that his sister was nearby. The sound of his voice brought both relief and concern to Genevieve as she realized Arthus was indeed there.

Quickly, the man attacked Arthur. Arthur threw him into a shelf, angering the man. "I'm gonna make you pay for that.

Merlin, whom Genevieve didn't recognize for obvious reasons, smartly told the man, "I'd like to see you try."

The man whistled, and a large group of threateningly large men entered the tavern.

"You had to open your big mouth, didn't you, Merlin?" Arthur questioned his servant.

Gwaine approached the two men, much to Genevieve's delight. "You two have got yourselves in a bit of a pickle, haven't you?" He joyously asked. He was comforted with the fact that Genevieve was upstairs, away from the violence about to take place. Genevieve noticed that he had a drink in his hand and couldn't help but shake her head as she smiled at the situation. Between her brother and her love, these men didn't stand a chance.

"You should get out of here while you have the chance," Arthur advised the stranger in front of him, his sense of nobility saying that he should protect as many people as possible.

"You're probably right," Gwaine agreed before taking a swig of his drink. He handed the drink to the leader of the gang with a smirk before punching him, ensuring that a brawl started.

Arthur and Gwaine were very skilled, and both seemed to be enjoying the fight. Arthur was focused enough on his servant that he was able to shout a warning to Merlin as a man threw a chair at the unsuspecting young man. It was with this unhonorable move that Genevieve decided to enter the fray. Before she could fully enter the room, she saw Merlin mutter something, his eyes glow gold, and a bench smash into two of the larger men. Mary was rushing around, attempting to save her property while Merlin made his way to the counter, hiding with Mary behind it and both attacking anyone who came to close. Gwaine, a man trapped in a headlock, approached the counter, much to the obvious delight of both people hiding behind it. He knocked out the man and looked behind the counter. "Pass the jug, eh?" He questioned. Merlin passed the jug of mead to Gwaine, who took a swig before punching the attacker attempting to sneak up behind him. "What do they call you, then?" He asked, a smile plastered on his face. Fighting was his passion, and this fight helped him feel like he was protecting Genevieve, still unaware that she was in the room.

"Merlin," came the reply, a grin matching Gwaine's own.

"Gwaine. Pleasure to meet you." Gwaine smashed the jug on the head of another attacker, knocking the man out. "Such a waste, eh?"

Arthur was fighting the leader. The leader pulled out a knife and attempted to stab Arthur. Gwaine lunged at the man, attempting to wrestle the knife away, but took it to the thigh instead. Genevieve screamed as Gwaine tried to get back up, only to fall and knock himself out. Merlin quickly moved to examine Gwaine as Genevieve shoved her way through the crowd. Her guards, who had also gotten involved in the brawl, flanked her, worried about what was about to occur.

"How is he?" Arthur questioned as he looked around for the source of the cry. Merlin continued to bandage Gwaine's leg. Genevieve finally pushed her way to where Gwaine was laying and dropped to her knees.

"Genevieve?" Arthur asked in disbelief. What was his sister doing in a place like this? Genevieve ignored her brother, keeping all her attention on the man who had stolen her heart.

"Arthur, he isn't doing well. He's losing a lot of blood." Arthur bent down and picked up the man that had helped him and Merlin, and that his sister was oddly crying over.

Merlin moved to comfort the crying girl, having heard Arthur say her name, but not paying enough attention to what he said to know who it was that he was comforting. He did, however, finally notice the guards wearing the colors of the Knights of Camelot.

The smallish group made their way outside, the Knights dragging out members of the gang. They locked up the leader in make shift stocks as the villagers threw rotten fruit at the man. Arthur had attempted to throw Gwaine over his horse, until Genevieve started throwing a fit and insisted that he be put in her carriage. He had placed him, not so gently he would admit later, in the carriage and saw his sister enter in quickly. He turned his focus onto the village in front of him, trying to ignore his sister and the strange man. "If this man ever troubles you again, word is to be sent to Camelot. Soldiers will be here within a day."

"How can you make a promise like that?" Mary questioned as she paused in her fruit throwing.

"Because I'm the King's son, Prince Arthur," he declared before signaling to the grown group to depart and follow him back to Camelot.

Genevieve sat in her carriage, worrying over Gwaine as his left continued to bleed through the makeshift bandage. She sent up a silent prayer, knowing that she couldn't use her magic in this situation.

They made it back to Camelot by nightfall. Merlin and Arthur moved Gwaine to Merlin's bedroom in Gaius's quarters, with Genevieve following close behind. Gaius immediately began to order Merlin around, which allowed Genevieve to learn the name of her brother's servant as she sat by one of the beds in the small chamber. "Merlin, fetch me some fresh water, towels, a needle, and silk thread."

"And honey?" A feminine voice asked from the doorway.

"Yes, Isabel. You're learning," came Gaius's gentle encouragement. Arthur looked at Gaius for explanation. "Helps fight the infection." Arthur nodded, focusing on his sister and how she was acting around this man.

"Will he be alright?" He whispered to the physician, not wanting to disturb his sister, who he now noticed wasn't looking well herself.

"Providing he's strong," came Gaius's response, following the prince's lead to whisper. He had noticed how worn the princess seemed, but the young man who was unconscious and bleeding out needed his immediate attention.

"He's that, alright. The man saved my life, Gaius. He has attracted the attention of my sister somehow. He's to be given anything he needs." Gaius nodded his understanding.

As Arthur turned to leave the room, Gaius softly called out to the prince. "Can you please take your sister to somewhere else? I'm worried about how she looks, but I need to stop his bleeding first."

"Sure, Gaius." Arthur walked over to where his sister was sitting, her head down on the mattress. He discovered that she was asleep, so he gently picked up his sister and carried her to his chambers, assuming that her chambers weren't quite ready for her.

He ran into Isabel in Gaius's main room and requested that she follow him and aid his sister. They quickly, and quietly, made their way through the castle. It was to their supreme fortune, or misfortune depending on who you asked, that the small group ran into Uther. He took one look at the body in his sons arms. He quickly realized that his daughter had returned to Camelot. With speed that belied his age, he took his daughter's unconscious body from his son's arms and moved to her chambers, having already ordered the servants to make sure it was ready for her return.

"You, girl!" He called out to Isabel, who quickly followed the king, stumbling only slightly as she followed the three royals into the room. "I am reassigning you to serve the Princess now. I want you to go get Gaius so he can look over her, now!" He was almost yelling at the girl by the end, but made sure not to get too loud to disturb his sleeping daughter. As the girl left, he turned to his son. "Why was she not immediately taken to Gaius on her return?" He demanded of his son. Arthur breifly explained, leaving out some details that he himself wasn't sure about, how he and Merlin had stumbled upon Genevieve while out hunting but how she had insisted (which wasn't too far from the truth) that Gaius look over a gentlemen who had come to her rescue. Uther accepted this explanation with no argument, mainly because he was too focused on his daughter. He swept a hand across her face, and noticed that she was running a fever. Fear filled him. His daughter couldn't die before he made amends.

Gaius quickly arrived, taking one look at the sleeping girl and quickly becoming concerned. She was doing worse than he had realized. He immediately began examining the girl he had known since her birth. He was confident that Merlin could take care of the young man laying up in his chambers for the night, his main concern was now the princess.

Gaius stayed with the princess all night, working on bringing her fever down. Uther stayed as well, concern over his daughter.

Morning broke over Camelot. Merlin was on his way back to the room he shared with his sister, a tray of food in hand. When he opened the door, he saw that Gwaine was awake, and looking around confused. "What am I doing in this bed?" He questioned.

"You were wounded. Arthur wanted to make sure you were treated by his physician," Merlin told him.

"Arthur? As in Arthur Pendragon?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"My fiancée and I were coming here to look for him," Gwaine answered truthfully, a silly grin coming across his face as he thought about Genevieve. Then he grew concerned. Had she been left at the inn?

"And who is your fiancée?" Merlin questioned, a knowing look already on his face.

"Genevieve," came the simple, hurried reply as Gwaine attempted to get out of the bed quickly, worry clouding his brain.

"Speaking of Genevieve, the King wants to thank you," Merlin stated from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Please, no. I've met a few kings. Once you've met one, you've... you've met them all." It wasn't just Uther and what he had done to Genevieve that angered him, it was what his own former king had done to his family following the death of his own father.

"He'll probably give you a reward," Merlin wheedled, knowing that if Uther heard what Gwaine had said about him and Genevieve, then the king would be more likely behead then man.

"I'm not interested. Besides, I've got everything I need here in the castle already. I just have to go find Genevieve. Make sure she is okay.

"So, why bother helping us, if you don't like kings?"

"You're chances looked between slim and none. I, er... I guess I just kind of like the look of those odds. Plus, Gen was in that inn. I had to protect her."

Merlin nodded his head, smiling to himself as he listened to the brave man standing before him. He told Gwaine how to find Genevieve's room, and warned him that she might still be asleep. Upon hearing this, Gwaine hurried from the room, muttering about how he should have made sure she got more rest, or something like that.

Arthur was pacing around his room, thinking about his sister and Gwaine, and how they were at the inn together. "How's Gwaine?" He asked Merlin, knowing that his servant had an uncanny ability of getting information, and didn't have the ability of keeping what he learned a secret, the poor boy.

"Recovering," Merlin managed to say without revealing anything else. He glanced out the window and noticed a growing number of people in the square, all who seemed to be focusing on a man on a majestic horse. "Who's that?" He asked Arthur.

Arthur walked over to the window, glad for the distraction that his servant was providing. "Ah, Sir Darien. He's here for the melee," he informed his servant. He had been looking forward to the melee until he had found his sister, and discovered that she was in terrible condition. She was so sick, even Gaius was concerned.

"Oh, yeah. The tournament where the knights ride around hitting each other with blunt weapons for no good reason," Merlin derisively stated.

"A little bit more to it than that," Arthur defended.

"Really? All I've ever seen is people getting the seven bells knocked out of the so that the last man standing can be called the winner."

"The melee is the ultimate test of strength and courage," Arthur said proudly, but Merlin could still tell that he was distracted.

"Are you sure we're talking about the same thing?" Merlin teased.

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to understand. You're not a knight."

"Oh, well if it means I don't get clobbered 'round the head, I'm glad of it," Merlin proudly stated.

"I'm afraid it doesn't," Arthur mockingly said. He picked up a cup from his table and threw it at the back of Merlin's head while Merlin was distracted. Merlin cried out in pain as the cup hit where it was intended to and turned around to face Arthur again, a bit peeved at how the prince was acting. Arthur simply nodded to his armour sitting on the table. "I need that lot cleaned by noon. Oh, and Isabel can't help you. She's been reassigned to my sister," was the explanation that came tumbling from Arthur's lips. Merlin rubbed his neck before groaning, gathering up the armour to go clean it. Arthur waited until Merlin left the room before allowing himself to relax. He didn't relax long before leaving his room and making his way down the hall to where his sister was laying silently.

He entered into the darkened room and saw Gwaine sitting almost exactly like his sister had the night before, clutching her hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. Arthur stood in the doorway, watching for a while, as Gwaine was whispering something to his sister. "So, Gwaine," he said suddenly, causing the other man to jump. "What's the story with you and my sister?" He asked gently as he moved to where they were.

"I rescued her, three years ago in a forest. She appointed me her official bodyguard and had me travel with her as she went around the lands, doing what your father wanted her to do. We got to know each other very well. So, when we returned to that same forest a month ago, I asked her to marry me. And she accepted. She knows my past and all my secrets, and I know her past and her secrets. I can't imagine what my life would be if she wasn't in it. I love her."

They sat in companionable silence for a while, both thinking about what had been shared. Genevieve began to wake up, the fever having finally broken at some point in the night. She could see two blurry figures sitting near her bed. Instead of alerting them to the fact that she was awake, she sat there, waiting to see what would be said.

"She had a rough childhood, one that I wasn't even aware of completely. But, I'm sure that she wouldn't change it for the world, especially if she feels the same way about you that you feel about her. If our father knew that she still has... special abilities, I worry that he would kill her with his anger," Arthur confided. He knew that his sister wouldn't have agreed to marrying this man unless he knew about her magic. Still, voicing such things were still dangerous. Gwaine looked at Arthur in surprise, realizing that Arthur knew about Genevieve's magic, which helped allay his fears that Arthur would become a king much like his father.

Isabel entered the room, Merlin on her heels. They both seemed surprised to see the two men sitting there and quickly closed the doors. Merlin moved over to where Arthur was sitting, hesitant to mention what he was about to share. "Sire, there is a druid asking to see your sister?" He both told and questioned. Arthur nodded his understanding and started to get up until a voice stopped him.

"Arthur, stop. I will go see them myself," Genevieve stated as she sat up, throwing back the blanket and moving her legs to the floor. Everyone began to rush to her side to help her, until they were all pushed back by her magic reacting. Genevieve, Arthur, and Gwaine were immediately filled with fear as they thought that the two servants standing in the room would immediately run to the king, crying magic!

Merlin and Isabel exchanged looks before laughing in relief. Each reached out a hand, focusing their energy, and demonstrated that they both had magic. Genevieve felt the power from them and realized that she was in the presence of the warlock, Emrys, and witch, Iona, that the druids had talked about, and she was in awe. She immediately motioned for the two siblings over. "Thank you, for protecting my brother while I've been gone."

"Well, a big overgrown lizard insisted that it was our destiny to protect him," Isabel responded aloud.

 _And that Isabel is supposed to marry your brother_ Merlin told her mentally, a smirk painting his face.

Genevieve laughed. "Well, since we are almost all gathered here," before she could continue, someone began to knock rapidly at the door. Genevieve quickly threw the blankets over her again, and took Gwaine's hand in hers, trusting the blanket to be able to hide it. Isabel opened the door and was greeted by Morgana and Gwen, who both hurried into the room, concerned by what they had heard about the Princess, but glad to hear that she had finally returned to Camelot. Before the women could gush over the princess, she shut the door with a flick of her wrist and calmly greeted the two woman she had come to consider her sisters. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Gwaine, the man I'm going to marry," she told them all with the biggest of grins on her face.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading, and to all those who have added this story to their alerts. I would love to get reviews and see what y'all are thinking about this story.**

 **Now, as you may have noticed, this chapter doesn't exactly fit in with the series time line, but I didn't want to send Gwaine away after the promises he made to Genevieve, so I just moved up the episode to take place in between season one and two. I hope you enjoy the first part of the episode, because I really enjoyed writing it.**


	4. Chapter 3

At first, the room was filled with stunned silence, then, the three other ladies exploded into cheers and squeals, taking the princess into a bizarre hug. She looked over to her fiancé, who was being glared at, good naturedly, by the prince. Merlin, however, was just grinning, happy by all that was occurring. If Arthur knew that his sister had magic, and now knew that he and Isabel had magic, then they would be safe in Camelot. The dragon was right about Arthur bringing back magic.

The room slowly, but surely fell back into silence as everyone gathered there looked at the happy, and now reunited, couple. Arthur could see the pure joy in his sister's face, and for that reason alone, he wouldn't tell their father this sweet secret.

Everyone dispersed, leaving the happy couple in Genevieve's room. Merlin and his sister made their way to their uncle's chambers, silently communicating with each other about all that had been shared. Having another magic user in the castle would be good.

Two more competitors arrived at Camelot, to be greeted by Arthur and Merlin. "Sir Oswald! Didn't think you'd be brave enough to show up," Arthur teased good naturedly.

"And miss the chance of putting you on your backside?" Sir Oswald returned, almost menacingly. Arthur looked at him before dismissing the notion that something was wrong.

"Ha-ha. You've never managed it before," Arthur confidently, but cautiously, told the knight standing in front of him.

"That was then. This is now," the knight grunted.

Arthur noticed another knight standing slightly behind Sir Oswald. "Sir Ethan," the knight introduced himself. Arthur greeted the man as if he were a brother-in-arms, clasping the man's arm in his.

Arthur motioned towards Merlin. "This is my servant, Merlin. He loves hard work so, anything you need, just give him a call." He didn't notice the glares that the two knights sent to his poor, unsuspecting servant.

The two knights made their way into the castle, menacing grins ensuring that they were left alone. Arthur and Merlin made their way to Arthur's chambers. When they entered, it was Arthur who closed the door instead of Merlin. "So, Merlin," he drawled, "when were you going to tell me that you have magic?"

"Uhh," Merlin couldn't think of what to say.

Arthur let out a laugh. "Don't worry about it, Merlin. I know how my father is, and why there is always fear with magic users. You can't even begin to imagine what my sister's childhood was like," Arthur informed his servant.

"But, if you don't have a problem with magic users, why do you help your father hunt and kill them?"

Arthur sat in silence before responding. "I would rather have myself hunting them, who will do everything possible to help them survive. If any of the others here, with the exception of a very few, were to go after magic users instead of myself, the magic users would be in true danger."

"So why were you hunting for the druid boy?"

"Honestly, I wanted to talk to him and his people. Find out if they had been in contact with my sister."

The two young men sat in silent contemplation yet again before a bellow for Merlin echoed through the castle. They exchanged looks before Arthur became his haughty self again. "Well, go on Merlin!"

As Merlin scampered through the door, Arthur followed more sedately behind him, verging away from the scrawny young boy and made his way to his sister's chamber. He knocked gently at the door and heard for his sister to "Come in!" Followed by a giggle. He shook his head at her antics, but walked in anyways. He saw Gwaine and his sister sitting comfortably at the large table, eating what looked like lunch. When he saw the food, his stomach began to rumble. He realized that it was lunch time, and Merlin was too busy to bring him lunch.

"Arthur!" His sister greeted brightly, sweeping up gracefully from where she had been sitting. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" She asked, her grin so bright it was almost blinding. It was infectious, and Arthur found himself grinning as well.

"Just wanted to check on my little sister," Arthur told her with a smirk. Genevieve put on an affronted look before returning his smirk with one of her own.

"Arthur, you and I both know that it is uncertain which of us are older." Arthur let out a bark of a laugh.

"Oh, how I have missed you," he replied before wrapping her in a hug so tight that she struggled to breathe. "And Gwaine, I know that I have you to thank for keeping her safe," he said as he released his sister and turned to the man in question.

"I can assure you, Arthur, that it was my pleasure." Gwaine shot a flirtatious smile to Genevieve, who winked at him. A loud grumble filled the room, followed by the melodious laughter of the princess.

"Arthur, would you like some lunch? There is more than enough here," she offered. Arthur gratefully begin loading up a plate, with plenty of protein. He sat at the table and begin digging in, much to the amusement of the engaged couple.

So, the three of them sat there, enjoying lunch, when someone knocked loudly at the door. Genevieve called out for them to enter, and to her delight, Isabel walked in. She wanted to get to know the younger girl better, especially following the revelations of yesterday. With no preamble, Isabel informed the princess that her father wanted to see her. Both men shot up, worried about the possible encounter between father and daughter. Genevieve motioned to her two protectors to sit down as she swept out of the room, Isabel following close behind.

Genevieve confidently made her way through her childhood home to the throne room, where her father was pacing imperiously, and impatiently. "You wanted to see me, Milord?" She asked as demurely as she could.

"I wanted to properly welcome you back to Camelot," he managed to say as he studiously looked at her. She looked more like him than she did his wife, but all he could see was his beloved, all but glaring back at him. He knew, no matter what he did now, he could not repair the relationship between him and his daughter. But, he would try.

"Well, I feel properly welcomed, Milord," she coldly replied. She may be related to this man, but she wanted nothing to do with the monster stalking in front of her. She began to feel the familiar sense of fear as he drew closer. She tensed as he raised her arm, only to be caught by surprise when he uncharacteristically hugged her, drawing her close.

"I worried about you during your travels, Genevieve," he said, his voice quivering slightly at how cold his daughter was treating him. He had distanced himself from what he had done to her when she was young, and had hoped that sending her away would allow her to do the same.

"Why should you have been worried, Milord? You sent your best knights to protect me," she said, a warning in her voice, almost daring him to admit that he hadn't cared about her safety at all.

Uther, wisely, moved away from the young woman standing before him. He no longer saw any of Igraine staring back at him, he only saw his past, coming back to haunt him in ways he could never imagine. Instead of answering the question, Uther moved the conversation along to what he had called her to discuss. "I was wondering if you planned on joining me tomorrow to watch the melee," he said as he swiftly moved to his throne, feeling the need to be powerful.

"I had hoped to join the melee tself, Milord. I figured that the Lady Morgana would provide plenty of companionship for you. Besides, she is more inclined to sitting and watching than I am, Milord." While she was talking, she had been making her way around the room, seemingly disinterested with the conversation she was holding with her father. No matter what he said, she would be participating in the tournament tomorrow, if nothing else than to prove to her father that she could protect herself now and that she no longer feared him. Her time with Gwaine, his obvious disdain for nobles, had rubbed off on her. Any respect, or fear, she had for her father had died out long ago, but the knowledge that he wouldn't hesitate to kill her caused her to train as if her life depended upon it, and it did.

"I would prefer if you stayed in the box with me, Genevieve," he growled. He voice gave the warning to not argue, but Genevieve was tired of always stepping aside when her father grew angry. Now she had control, now she could fight back.

"I don't think I will, Milord, unless you want the entire kingdom to know what you did to me, or, for that matter, all our allies and enemies. You sent me away, and while I was away I made many friends, who wouldn't hesitate to come to my aid should I call for it, even against you," her voice had taken on the steel that her father was famous for. "So, I will participate in the melee, and you will not stop me. Have I made myself heard, Milord?" She asked, having finally approached the throne where her father had previously been sitting regally but was now cowering, like the coward that he had become following his wife's death. Without waiting for an answer, she turned around gracefully and left the throne room. Uther sat there in fear for a few moments longer. He couldn't let her get away with such insolence, but he knew that it wasn't an empty threat that she had made. He couldn't go after her. So, what could he do?

When Genevieve finally made it to the safety of her chambers, she began to cry. She felt so alone. Despite being surrounded by people that she loved, she felt so alone. She slid down the large doors, her dress pooling around her as she just cried, letting herself truly feel all that she had locked away ages ago.

In another part of the castle, Merlin and Isabel were racing to finish all the chores that Sirs Ethan and Oswald had given Merlin. They entered into the shared room of the men and began to tidy things up. Merlin began to examine one of the two swords in the room, wanting to make sure that everything was perfect for the melee tomorrow. He was unpleasantly surprised when the seemingly dulled blade cut his finger He cried out in pain, prompting Isabel to move to her brother, when a voice rang out in the room.

"What are you doing with that, boy?" Sir Oswald didn't even pay attention to Isabel, who had shruken away from her brother at the loud voice.

"Wha... Er..." Merlin struggled to find the words that would explain what he was doing there.

"We were just tidying," Isabel stated, drawing undesired attention to herself. Sir Oswald glared at her before snatching the sword from Merlin.

"Keep away from things that don't concern you," he growled menacingly to the siblings. They quickly left, making their way to Gaius's chambers, Merlin cradling his cut finger.

When they arrived at Gaius's chambers, they were surprised to find Gwaine there, already in a deep discussion with their uncle. The politely interrupted the conversation and Merlin asked Gaius if he could bandage his finger. Gaius immediately began to gather his supplies. The twins began to catch their breath, preparing to share what they had discovered in the men's chamber that they had just run from. As Gaius returned to his table, his door slammed open, revealing a very disheveled princess. Gwaine immediately jumped up and gathered his distraught love in his arms, soothing her. And she stayed there, in his arms, enjoying the comfort that he provided. He moved them to sit at the now crowded table and motioned for Merlin to explain why him and Isabel were out of breath and scared.

"To the eye, the sword appeared blunt, but when I touched it..." Merlin finished his story with a grimace, gesturing to his now bandaged finger. Isabel sat where she was, arms wrapped around her.

"You were lucky," Gwaine whispered to the boy, not wanting to disturb the sleeping woman he was holding, and couldn't stop staring at her. He was still astounded by her beauty, and the fact that she could love a man like him. "I've seen those blades in action. They're forged using sorcery," he informed the room before gently moving some hair out of Genevieve's face.

"What would they want with such a blade?" Gaius questioned.

"I think they mean to kill Arthur in the melee," Merlin stated, loud enough that he woke up Genevieve. She sat up, knocking Gwaine in the jaw, causing them both to grimace in pain.

"Who's trying to kill Arthur now?" She asked as she rubbed her sore head.

Merlin quickly repeated the story to the Princess, who silently listened, and contemplated what was being said. All sat quietly until Gaius asked why they would want to kill Arthur in front of all those people.

"It's the perfect cover," Gwaine responded. "If they succeed, nobody will suspect it was intentional."

Merlin jumped up from where he was sitting. "I need to warn Arthur!"

"Merlin," Gaius cautioned, "Sir Oswald's a knight. He comes from a well-respected family. You can't accuse him without proof."

"Genevieve could!" Isabel stated from where she had been quietly seated. Everyone turned to look at the Princess, who was already shaking her head no.

"Father and I got in a fight earlier, I can't approach him on anything currently," she quietly explained as she seemed to shrink into Gwaine. Everyone in the room nodded, knowing how terrible the King's temper could be.

"Then we need that blade," Merlin decided.

"I'll get it," Gwaine volunteered as he stood up from where he was seated with Genevieve.

"What if they catch you? What reason would you have to be in Sir Oswald's chamber? No. It's safer if I do it." Merlin was firm in his choice. He had already decided that he wouldn't even allow Isabel to help him that night.

When night fell, and most of the palace was asleep, Merlin snuck in the guest chamber. He made sure that they were both asleep before moving to the trunk where the blades were stored. As he approached the trunk, he noticed a strange crystal around Oswald's neck. He went to investigate, because he knew that crystals were used in magic and he was curious why a knight would be using a crystal in Camelot of all places. What he saw, though, truly surprised him. In the crystal was the bandit from the tavern! He let out a small, almost imperceptible gasp, which was enough to wake the man he was hovering over. The bandit woke up and grabbed Merlin, stalking off with the young man.

Gwaine returned to Gaius's chambers after escorting Genevieve back to hers. Isabel was up the stairs, currently sleeping thanks to a draught made for her by Gaius. Him and Gaius had been sitting there, waiting for Merlin to return with the sword. "Merlin should be back by now," Gwaine said gruffly, taking no steps to hide his obvious concern. Genevieve had revealed to him her plans to join the melee the next day, and now he was even more concerned that Merlin hadn't returned.

"I know," Gaius said shortly. He too was concerned that his nephew, who always seemed to be in trouble, hadn't returned.

"I'm going to see what's going on," Gwaine said as he stalked out of the room.

"Gwaine," Gaius said to an empty room.

Back in the guest chamber, the fake Sir Oswald threw a dagger just above Merlin's head. "I was just rearranging the bed clothes, that's all" Merlin protested as a second dagger came his way.

"You here that, Sir Ethan? He was just rearranging the bed clothes," the fake Sir Oswald said to his companion. Both men were still dressed for bed as they tormented Merlin, who was genuinely afraid for his life. The fake Sir Oswald delivered a third dagger towards Merlin.

"My mistake. He's not the snivelling thief I thought he was," the other man stated. Sir Oswald began to attack Merlin with a sword. Merlin dodged the incoming blade as it rang against the wood.

"I thought you might be cold!"

"Of course you did," the bandit condescendingly said, before taking another poorly aimed swing at Merlin, who once again dodged the incoming attack. Suddenly, Gwaine burst into the chamber.

"Is there a problem here?" He charmingly asked.

The main bandit turned to face Gwiane. "No," he said through gritted teeth. "Now, leave."

Gwaine ignored him. "You alright, Merlin?" He turned his focus on the magical servant, who was shaking his head and mouthing "No."

"I thought I told you to leave?" The bandit was clearly upset that Gwaine was ignoring his order to leave. He remembered Gwaine from the fight in the tavern and was unhappy to see him interfering again.

"I wasn't talking to you," Gwaine said smoothly as he moved closer to Merlin.

"How dare you speak to a knight like that!" The other bandit all but shouted before attacking the unarmed Gwaine. Gwaine quickly disarms the man, catching his sword, before the leader attacks him.

"Careful" Merlin calls out.

"Don't worry," Gwaine responds confidently. "I can handle this thug." Gwaine continues to fight the leader, clearly in control of the fight, until the fake Sir Ethan attacks him from behind. Gwaine, without missing a beat, knocks the other man down hard and is once again attacked from behind, this time by the leader. Merlin again gives a cry to Gwaine, this time to watch out, and Gwaine disarms his opponent.

Suddenly, Sir Leon enters the room. "What is going on?" He asks as he looks at the disarray. Gwaine turns to look at the knight and is backhanded to the floor by the fake Sir Oswald.

"This man attacked me!" He passionately cried. "I demand an audience with the King!"

The royal court was summoned, along with Genevieve and Arthur. Everyone entered into the council chamber, many upset to have been woken from pleasant dreams. Uther was pacing the chamber, displeased to have been woken up at such an hour, especially the night before the melee where both his children would be fighting.

Gwaine was brought before the council in shackles and roughly pushed to his knees. Genevieve gave a small cry of horror as she saw her fiance kneeling there. Arthur placed a restraining hand on his sister, not wanting to anger their father even more. "Sire, this man attacked me, with a sword, tried to kill me!" Sir Oswald loudly stated, much to the continued annoyance of the king.

"Is this true?" He asked the man shackled before him, his patience already thin from the fight he had with Genevieve earlier that day and the fact that he wanted to be in his bed sound asleep.

"I stepped in to protect Merlin," Gwaine calmly, and softly, stated, not focusing on the raging man in front of him, but on the woman who had his heart standing not too far away.

"I tried to talk to him. He was like a man possessed! I'm sure that Sir Ethan will back me up."

"Indeed, I can vouch for his every word," Sir Ethan stated.

"He's a liar!" Gwained roared as he attempted to stand up, only to be shoved back down. Arthur had to physically pull his sister back, her anger nearly causing her eyes to flash gold.

"I will have your tongue! How dare you speak to a knight that way?!" Uther roared back to the man.

"Nobility is defined by what you do, and not by who you are," Gwaine all but spat to the king. "And these men are anything but. They are arrogant thugs!"

"Gwaine," Arthur gently cautioned, bringing Gwaine's attention to Genevieve who was trying not to cry.

"Well, you see, Sire, how he behaves," Sir Oswald haughtily said, knowing that Gwaine had signed his own death warrant.

"I've heard enough. For a commoner to attack a nobleman is in violation of the Knight's Code." Uther walked around the room, his attention being grabbed by the tears threatening to fall down his daughter's cheeks. Why would she cry for this man? He wondered.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Sire. He must be made an example of."

"Sir Oswald, please," Arthur pleaded as he shielded his sister from the pair's view.

"Nothing less than his execution will give me satisfaction," Oswald said, hammering the final nail into Gwaine's coffin.

"Father," Arthur began to reason, not wanting to see the man who made his sister smile be executed. "I understand how this must look, it's an embarrassing situation. Sir Oswald is a dear friend, and our guest here in Camelot. But Gwaine is my guest, and Genevieve's guest, here, too. And he may not be of noble birth, but I can vouch that he has a noble heart." Genevieve had slowly been moving towards Gwaine during Arthur's impassioned speech.

"How can you say that when you see the way he behaves?" Uther questioned, his attention turned away from both Gwaine and Genevieve.

"Gwaine risked his life to save mine. I beg you, please, if a knight's word if his bond, then I give you my word. Gwaine is a good man. He deserves clemency."

Uther turned to face the man in question, noticing that his daughter had moved closer to him while Arthur was making his plea. "You are banished from Camelot," he decisively stated, ignoring the look from his heartbroken daughter. "If you ever return, you will pay for it with your life. You have until dawn to leave the city." Uther stalked away from the proceeding's, not noticing the tears finally fall on his daughter's face, or the satisfied smirk shared between Sirs Oswald and Ethan. All left the chamber, Genevieve being supported by Arthur, who was whispering to her that he would do everything he could to reverse their father's decision. Everything short of revealing the relationship between the two, that is.

After Gwaine quickly packed his belongings, he made his way to Genevieve's chamber, happy to see that there weren't any guards around to ask him what he was doing. He knocked gently at her door and was grateful that she was still awake and let him in. He rushed in and, closing the door behind him with a swift kick, began to kiss his love. Genevieve began crying again, begging Gwaine not to go, or, at the very least, let her go with him.

"Gen, we both know that Uther will never let you leave here again, especially to run away with a handsome fellow like myself. Besides, if we both go, who will protect Arthur when he is too stubborn to listen to Merlin? Genevieve let out a small laugh at those words. The tears had finally abated. Gwaine reached for a chain that was only visible to the two of them, gently drawing it out from where it was hidden in her dress. Around the simple chain was the simple band, her engagement band. It was a promise, and one that Gwaine had kept as best as he could. He began to cry this time, hating that he was about to leave Genevieve, after promising that he wouldn't. When Genevieve saw him crying, she began to kiss him with everything in her.

They spent the night together, alternating between cuddling together on the spacious bed and developing a plan to save Arthur during the melee in the morning. When they had finished devising their plan, Gwaine said good-bye to his love, promising to return, before leaving the castle, and heading to where a friendly servant girl lived, who should be willing to give him a place to stay until the melee was to begin.

Morning came all too quickly. Everyone excited, and a tiny bit apprehensive, for the melee that was about to begin. Uther visited Arthur before the event began, assuring both himself and Arthur that Arthur was ready for the melee. Uther didn't dare reveal to his son that Genevieve would be joining the battle, still hoping that she would change her mind and stay with him in the box.

The crowds were gathered, all ready to see the melee, which promised plenty of violence and the possibility of unintentional bloodshed. All those participating in the melee were getting ready, including two royals. Genevieve was prepared to do whatever it took to keep her brother alive, and bring honor to Gwaine.

Uther entered into the box, when Morgana was already seated. Gwen had filled her in on what had occurred the night before, and she was angry at Uther, yet again. She couldn't even look at the king as he signaled for the melee to begin. Mass chaos ensues. Riders are being thrown from their horse with a stunning quickness, many a knight is being felled by a cursed blade. Genevieve has no qualms about using magic in the melee to ensure that herself, and those she loved, returned safely. When all but four fighter had been eliminated, two of them began to target Arthur, ignoring the fact that there was still someone fighting. The two bandits began to circle Arthur and Genevieve, who had rushed over to defend her brother. Suddenly. Genevieve was hit, enough for her to be called as out. She left the arena, looking around desperately, as another knight came running into the arena, helping Arthur. They both fought against the two bandits, Arthur simply wishing to strike enough to end the battle, while the other fighter fought very aggressively. He stabbed one of the two opposing knights with the knights own cursed blade that he had caught after disarming him, and killed him much to the surprise of the crowd. The other knocked Arthur down and was going for the kill when the mysterious fighter blocked the blade and stabbed him, ending his life with another gasp from the crowd.

Arthur stood up, sword in hand, and faced the latecomer. "They'll expect us to fight to the end now," he said in between pants. Then, he removed his helmet, forfeiting with cheers in the background. "You fought bravely. The field is yours." He told the other knight, thankful that he had come when he did. The knight stuck his sword in the ground before lifting his visor. "I should've known." Gwaine removed his helmet. "Nobody fights like you do."

Gwaine turned to face the King's box, causing Uther to recognize him. "Guards, seize him!" Uther cried out.

"NO!" Came the feminine cry as Genevieve rushed back out to the arena, causing silence to reign over those gathered. Uther, surprised to see his daughter running out, began to turn red in the face. Arthur, seeing his father's reaction, quickly caught his sister, keeping her from running to Gwaine.

Uther and Gaius were standing over the bodies of Sirs Ethan and Oswald. Gaius knealt down to check for pulses. "Is there nothing you can do for them?" Uther asked.

"I'm sorry, it's too late for them," Gaius told his king.

"The prisoner is responsible for their deaths," he hissed to Arthur who had joined them after passing his sister off to Merlin and Isabel. "I want him executed immediately."

"You might want to wait before you pass judgement. I fear that," Gaius pulled the crystal from Ethan, "Sir Ethan," and repeated with Sir Oswald, "And Sir Oswald are not all that they seem." He removed their respective helmets, revealing their identities.

"Sorcery!" Uther barely breathed.

"And once again, I owe Gwaine my life," Arthur simply stated.

Uther and Arthur immediately rushed back to the council chamber to discuss what to do now, especially with the newly uncovered knowledge. They were surprised to find Genevieve already in there. "Leave us," she commanded all who had gathered. Soon, it was the three Pendragons all standing around. "Father," Genevieve began. "You will not execute Gwaine. You will rescind your previous judgement on him. He will be allowed to remain in Camelot." Her tone brokered no argument. Uther looked at his daughter in surprise.

"And why would I do that?" He questioned.

"Simple. You want me happy, right? The best way to do that is keep Gwiane here." She held out her hand for her father to examine, and when he saw the ring he nearly cried out with rage.

"I will not allow you to marry a commoner!" He yelled at her.

"Gwaine is not a commoner," she softly, but venomously, stated. "He is the son of a knight, and is therefore a member of the nobility. And, if you dare to even attempt to harm him, I will count it as an attack on me. So, do we have an agreement, Father?" Arthur watched the exchange with baited breath, hardly believing that his timid sister had the guts to stand up to their father.

Uther fumed, but realized that he couldn't do anything. His hands were tied. "Fine," he muttered before storming out of the council chamber. Arthur and Genevieve exchanged looks before running off to share the good news. Gwaine would be allowed to stay in Camelot, but his identity had been revealed.

When Arthur told Gwaine the result, Genevieve not able to because she couldn't stop hugging Gwaine, Gwiane wasn't upset or disappointed that Genevieve had told. She was a strong and fierce woman, and she would do whatever it took to defend those that she loves.


	5. Chapter 4

Pounding echoed through the castle, as diggers worked day and night to uncover treasures supposedly buried beneath Camelot. Arthur had moved Merlin to his antechamber, stating that it was for his own good but it was really because Genevieve had moved Isabel into her own chamber and Arthur refused to be outdone by his sister.

Merlin laid on the antechamber floor, lost in thought about the events of the past few weeks. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the daughter of Uther was a witch! And now, Arthur knew about his and Isabel's magic! This went against everything the Great Dragon had told them. But, why would the Great Dragon lie to them?

"Merlin!" He heard Arthur bellow in a great imitation of Uther. He went to open the door of the Prince's bedchamber, only to run into the young man.

"Yes, sire?" He asked tiredly.

"Are you deaf?" Arthur cruelly asked of the sleep deprived boy.

"I wish," Merlin replied sullenly.

"I want you to go down and tell them to stop!"

"But they're working under the King's orders," Merlin weakly protested, knowing full well that it wouldn't matter to the Prince.

"Yes, and you're working under mine!" Arthur wished that the diggers would stop working at night so the castle could sleep. He watched as Merlin left his chambers and decided to go see if Gwaine or his sister was awake.

Gwaine had been given his own set of chambers, as far from Genevieve's chambers as was proper for a noble. Arthur was already planning Gwaine's knighting ceremony, and Uther had begrudgingly planned a tournament in honor of Gwaine and Genevieve's engagement. The tournament was going to be happening in a month's time, giving the rulers of the various kingdoms enough time to travel to Camelot to attend the tournament and the wedding.

As Arthur was making his way to his sister's rooms, figuring that if she was awake, then Gwaine would be in there, Merlin was making his way to the tunnels underneath the castle. He was muttering to himself the entire time, talking about what a prat the prince was being. He quickly made his way through the now silent and abandoned tunnels, not even noticing that he was alone. He followed the excavated tunnels until he found a small chamber off to the side of the tunnel. He looked inside and found one of the diggers sitting in the chamber, slumped against what looked like a coffin, a very ornate coffin. "Hello?" He cautiously asked as he moved towards the worker, hand outstretched. He nudged to man, concerned that he hadn't received a reaction, hoping that he was just asleep. That hope was dashed when, as he gently touched the man, it was revealed that he was dead.

Merlin ran, escaping from the tomb and the death there. He didn't stop running until he reached Arthur's now empty rooms. He frantically knocked at the door, and continued knocking for several minutes until it became obvious to his frazzled mind that the Prince wasn't in his rooms.

 _Merlin, calm down. What's wrong?_ He heard Genevieve's voice ask him.

 _I can't find Arthur!_ He replied in anything but a calm manner.

 _He's here with me and Gwaine. Now, Merlin, tell me what is wrong?_ Genevieve, who had previously been laughing with her fiancee and brother, had heard Merlin's distress as he unconsciously projected his thoughts. Instead of waking Isabel to go find Merlin, she decided to check on the younger man herself. Instead of a clear picture, all Merlin could mentally mutter was something about a dead body. _Go get Gauis_ , Genevieve calmly informed the panicking man. _I will wake up Isabel, who will meet you there, and send Arthur to get the King_. When Merlin had given a somewhat calmer response, Genevieve went into action. She went over and gently, but urgently, woke the heavily sleeping girl. She quietly told the girl to head to Gaius's chambers as quickly as possible, that Merlin would be waiting for her. As the girl ran out of the room, with Arthur's concerned eyes following her, Genevieve turned to the two most important men in her life. "Arthur," she began with a practiced calm, "there seems to have been an accident down in the tunnels." Arthur immediately grew concerned, thinking the worst had happened to Merlin. Genevieve, knowing where her brother's thoughts had turned to, continued on. "Merlin discovered the dead body of one of the workers, from what I could gather from his scattered thoughts." Arthur still looked concerned, but less so. "I sent him and Isabel to go get Gaius, and you need to go get Uther, quickly." Arthur, realizing that his sister was more shaken than she let on, quickly gave her a hug before running off to go get their father. Before he had left her chambers, she called out to him. "Arthur! We'll wait for you in your rooms. Just tell us everything that happens, please." He nodded his head, and continued out the door to his father's chambers.

Gwaine could see how shaken Genevieve was, and quickly enveloped her in a hug, much like Isabel was doing to her brother. Merlin was explaining, shakily, to Gaius what he had seen down in the tunnels. Arthur, meanwhile, was explaining the brief story that Genevieve had given him, but leaving out Genevieve's name, instead opting to say that Merlin had told him. Uther, however, didn't hear anything about the dead body. He had stopped listening to his son after he heard that a tomb had been discovered.

Gaius had made his way down to the tomb, with Isabel and a much calmer Merlin following close behind. Gaius had given him a weak calming draught to help settle his nerves. The trio finally made their way to the tomb, where Merlin and Gaius immediately entered and began examining the treasure filled room. Isabel stayed at the entrance, dread filling her. It had started out small, but kept increasing the closer they got to the tomb, until it became overwhelming. She felt physically sick and just wanted to run away, preferably screaming.

"How do you think he died?" Merlin asked as Gaius examined the body. "Gaius?" He asked his uncle, having quickly realized that the man had been lost in thought and didn't hear him.

"Hmm?" Gaius turned his attention to his nephew. He saw that Isabel still hadn't entered into the tomb. He filed away the observation to be dealt with later, at a better time.

"Do you know whose tomb it is?" Merlin asked, changing his original question.

"Not sure," Gaius admitted.

"Do you think it might be cursed?" Isabel asked, shifting restlessly from where she was standing at the entrance of the tomb. It was taking all her strength to not throw up, or run screaming, or just sit and rock back and forth. Gaius, seeing his niece's obvious distress, moved to comfort her, stepping on a stone in the floor, which immediately depressed, setting off a trap. One of the decorative stone birds within in the tomb shot an arrow where he was standing. Merlin moved a plate, magically, to block the arrow, while Isabel yanked her uncle back, still not entering the tomb. She could feel her magic being rejected by whoever's tomb it was, but it only caused her to pull harder. Their combined efforts saved Gaius from what would be a certain death otherwise.

"You saved my life," he told the twins while looking at them in almost awe as he quickly moved back to his feet, brushing the dust off his robes. "Thank you."

Uther's thundering footsteps could be heard coming down the tunnel. Isabel moved out of the way as Merlin dropped the plate that had still been suspended in the air. The dropped plate rolled toward the King's feet as he entered into the tomb, talking to his son. "...guard at all times." He looked at the plate at his feet, noting that it seemed to be solid gold, before looking over to Merlin and calling him an idiot.

"Were you born clumsy, or do you work at it?" Arthur hissed at his manservant, without truly looking at him. Arthur had noticed that Isabel refused to enter into the tomb, and it truly worried him.

"It's just one of my many gifts," Merlin cheerfully answered him, following his gaze. The draught that Gaius had given him was working wonders on his mental state. While they had been watching Isabel, Uther had been examining the tomb, and he liked what was there. "Well, this is quite a find. You see, Gaius, I was right. There is treasure to be found under Camelot. Which of my predecessors do I have to thank for all this?" He questioned the physician, enjoying the amount of wealth presented in the tomb. If he played his cards right, he could use some of this wealth as a dowry to marry Genevieve off to someone better suited for her. The only reason he had agreed to a tournament for her engagement to that troublesome Gwaine was in the hopes that she would meet someone better and forget all about the scruffy wanna be noble that was currently staying in Camelot.

Uther noticed that Gaius, who was examining the sarcophagus, hadn't been paying attention. "Gaius?" He not so gently reminded the man that he was there.

"Uh, I'd have to look into it, Sire," Gaius uncertainly told his ruler.

"How did he die?" Uther asked, finally remembering that one of the men he had sent down here to work had died.

"He seems to have unwittingly triggered a trap here," Gaius informed the King.

"To deter grave robber," Arthur determined, his focus still on the now shaking girl standing in the tunnel. He had never seen Isabel, quiet but strong Isabel, act this way before. It was unnerving. Isabel was currently fighting her every instinct to run away and remain where she was now firmly planted.

"Well," Uther began, oblivious to where his son was looking. "There's plenty in here people would want to steal. Have them secure the tomb," he continued as he turned to face his son. Merlin nudged Arthur as Uther turned around, giving him enough warning about Uther's actions that Arthur was able to tear his gaze away from Isabel and instead focus on his father, saving Isabel from the wrath of Uther. "Guarding it is your responsibility, Arthur," he told his pride and joy as he swept out of the room, almost knocking over Isabel in the process.

"Yes, Father," Arthur replied as he followed Uther out of the tomb, steadying Isabel in the process.

Everyone left the tomb, and the tunnels, to return to their respective rooms.

Arthur walked into his room, happy to see that Gwaine and Genevieve were there and still awake. As he opened his mouth to share about what had occurred, a gentle but insistent knock come from his door. He went to open it, and found Morgana there, who quickly swept into the room, moving to perch gracefully on Arthur's bed. Arthur merely raised an eyebrow before shaking his head, and began to inform the group about what had happened.

"The poor girl was frightened. She couldn't stop shaking," he finished. He had told them general details about what had occurred, but had unconsciously focused majority of his story on Isabel.

"And you said she refused to even enter the tomb?" Genevieve asked, gently shaking off Gwaine's arm as she moved near her brother.

"That's right," he said, curious as to what could be going through his sister's mind.

"I've found that Isabel is more sensitive to residual magic," Genevieve informed the room casually, as if she were informing them of what was for dinner. Everyone looked at her, as if she grew a second head, but she didn't notice. "If Isabel didn't want to enter the room, if she was shaking so bad that it was visible, it could be indicative of a powerful wizard or sorcerer. I suggest we all be extremely careful until the identity can be determined. And, we all work as hard as possible to keep her away from the tomb and everything having to do with it." It was then that she noticed the numerous looks coming from all around the room.

"And how do you know this?" Arthur gently asked his sister. Genevieve stumbled over her words, not quite sure how to explain how she knew that about Isabel. Gwaine signaled to Arthur not to push the subject matter at this time. He was somewhat used to such proclamations from Genevieve, and found it best to just go with whatever she had said.

"Either way," Morgana spoke up, "it sounds as if it would be better for the poor girl to avoid anything to do with the tomb. Genevieve, would you mind if I borrowed her for the time being?" Genevieve nodded her agreement, plans already forming in her mind on investigating the tomb and discovering who had left the residual magic that so greatly disturbed.

While this group was discussing the tomb, another trio was discussing it as well. Gaius, along with his calmed nephew and very shaken niece. Gaius was running through a simple check on her, making sure that she was alright. "And you said that the tomb repelled your magic?" Gaius asked her.

"Well… it tried to. I pushed against it, and, even though I was able to pull you back, Gaius, it was like something was fighting me. Didn't you feel it, Merlin?" Both turned to look at the spaced out young man, who quickly shook his head. Merlin hadn't felt any sort of magic within the tomb, with the exception of when both he and Isabel had used their magic.

Everyone in the castle thought about what had occurred that night, for different reasons. Arthur, Gwaine, Morgana, and Genevieve worried about the tomb and its unknown danger, while Gaius worried about the tomb in general. Merlin was worried about his sister, and Isabel was worried about the obvious danger, in her mind, that the tomb presented. Uther's mind swirled around treasure, much like another mind did down in the tavern, as the loose lips of one of the workers drunkenly spoke of the treasure laden tomb, and the security measures already in place. Everyone fell into a peaceful sleep, minds made up on what they would be doing in the morning.

Morning came quickly for the residents of Camelot. Isabel and Merlin woke up early that morning, setting out to do their chores and avoid anything even remotely having to do with the tomb. Gaius sat down that morning, books in hand and loading down the table, as he researched whose tomb had been discovered.

Arthur, upon waking up, decided that a hunt was in order, and when Merlin delivered his breakfast, ordered Merlin to go prepare for said hunt. Merlin immediately went to Gwaine, not wanting to deal with a hunt without the man there to temper Arthur.

Isabel had been summoned by Genevieve to Morgana's chambers. When she arrived, she was surprised to see that Genevieve wasn't there. "Milady?" She asked cautiously as she fully entered into the room. Morgana quickly waved at her to shut the door.

"Please, Isabel, no need to be so formal. It's Morgana to my friends, and I do hope that we are friends by now," Morgana said in her regal, yet charming, way. "Now, Genevieve and I were talking, and we thought it might be beneficial for you to assist me for a few days," Morgana gently told the young with who was still standing in front of her.

"Am I in trouble?" Isabel timidly asked.

Morgana let out a gentle laugh. "No, Isabel, no!"

"Then why am I supposed to assist you?" Isabel finally let go of the fear that kept her words in line. "If I have done nothing wrong, why would you and Genevieve talk about having me work for you?"

"Arthur told us about what happened in the tomb," Morgana blurted out. Isabel stopped her rant and stared at the lady.

"What do you mean?" She asked, containing her worry for the moment.

"About how you wouldn't even enter into the tomb, about how scared you looked, how you couldn't stop shaking," Morgana explained.

"And how does that have anything to do with me serving you for a few days?" The girl huffed.

"Genevieve might have mentioned how you are more sensitive to residual magic, and we agreed that it might be better for you if you didn't have to deal with that, and since Genevieve plans on investigating the tomb more, she didn't want you to have to worry about anything," Morgana rambled on. "And besides, I need help planning the wedding, because Genevieve and Gwaine absolutely refuse to do any planning, and Uther just wants to pretend that the wedding isn't going to happen." Morgana and Genevieve had excellent intentions, Isabel could see that. What she didn't like is the thought that she had to be protected. She was a witch, a decently powerful one! She didn't need to be protected, she could protect herself. Then, she thought back to last night, when she was at the tomb, how it was almost impossible to breathe and how she couldn't move, all without entering into the tomb. And, while she didn't know the princess very well, what she did know of her suggested that Genevieve was genuinely concerned, not just being a prat like Prince Arthur typically was. So, Isabel agreed to stay and help Morgana, and Gwen when she arrived, plan the wedding, while Merlin struggled with a horse.

Merlin had been running around all morning, gathering nobles, knights and servants to go on a hunt. He hadn't been able to find Gwaine, much to the young man's dismay, nor was the Princess around. He figured that they had probably snuck off for some alone time, away from the prying eyes of Uther.

Merlin had gathered enough people for the hunt, and was making his way to the courtyard. He had just exited the castle doors when a call of "Hurry up, Merlin!" Reached his ears. Arthur was impatiently waiting beside his horse for Merlin, fully prepared to take advantage of the young man.

Merlin got on his hand and knees, preparing to help the Prince onto his horse when a clatter of hooves reached both of their ears. Arthur looked behind him and Merlin looked up, grateful to see Genevieve and Gwaine there. "Merlin, get up," Genevieve told the young man while glaring at Arthur. "Really, Arthur, I expected more of you," she calmly said as she dismounted from her mare. Gwaine remained where he was, leaning forward in the saddle as he watched what was occurring.

"I have no idea what you mean, Sister," Arthur replied formally.

"Well," Genevieve began, a twinkle in her eye that gave a warning to Arthur that he made a mistake. "I expected that a great prince, such as yourself, should be able to get onto a horse as well, if not better, than his sister, a lowly princess." Gwaine let out a bark of a laugh as he looked at the confounded face of the Prince. Genevieve didn't even wait for her brother to respond. She simply moved back to her mare and mounted gracefully, fully challenging Arthur to prove her wrong.

Arthur, seeing the challenge for what it was, quickly went to mount his own horse. He swiftly mounted, and turned the horse to where he could face his sister. As he had finished the rotation, his saddle slid from where it had been secured and he slid off the back of the steed and into the courtyard. "Merlin!" He angrily screamed over the combined laughs of Genevieve and Gwaine.

"I don't understand!" Merlin stated, confused as to how the girth could have loosened. He had secured it, and made sure that it was secure.

"Well, there's a surprise." Arthur's sarcasm cut deep this time. It wasn't the playful sarcasm that had become the usual since the return of Genevieve, it was the harmful one of before.

"I did that girth up myself," Merlin defended over the growing laughter of the couple. He knew they weren't laughing at him, but at the Prince.

"Well, I think that might have been the problem!" Arthur was enraged now. He did not like being laughed at, especially when it wasn't his fault that something had occurred.

"It wasn't my fault!" Merlin continued to protest. Another man walked up at this point, causing Genevieve to stop laughing and observe then man. There was something off about him, something she didn't like. The three men around her noticed her sudden silence and looked at the strange man.

"Would you like me to fit the girth properly for you, Sire?" He asked, his practiced simper obvious to the couple still mounted, but not to the Prince, who was still angry that he had been laughed at.

"Thank you," he told the stranger, grateful to have someone who wasn't laughing at him.

"It's an honuor to be of service to the Prince," he replied with a small bow as he finished redoing the girth.

"The honour," Arthur whispered to his sister, servant, and soon to be brother. All three responded with eye rolls at the Prince.

"Anything else I can do for you, sir?" He asked.

"Well, you can give Merlin here a kick up the backside," Arthur responded with seriously. Genevieve turned her glare from the man to her brother, her eyes glowing gold briefly as she used her magic to give her brother a pinch, thus causing the Prince to wince and attempt to cover up his wince with a chuckle.

"I wouldn't wish to deprive you of the pleasure, sir."

"Ha!" Arthur laughed, glad to feel like he had someone on his side. "What's your name?"

"Cedric. I've come to Camelot in search of work."

"Good. You can be a beater on the hunt. We're short of a man or two," Arthur told the charming man.

"Especially because Gwaine and I have decided to join you on the hunt, Arthur," Genevieve announced. Merlin shot her a thankful look. _Keep an eye of him, Merlin. There's something off about him_ She instructed the servant. Merlin nodded his head, acknowledging the advice.

Merlin picked up one of the beater bats, and not so gently passed it Cedric. "Here. You'll need a beater," he told the man, hitting him in the gut. "Oh, sorry," he insincerely told the man.

The party made their way to the forest, excitement causing their horses to prance. Genevieve and Gwaine stayed towards the back of the group, acting like the couple in love, but were focusing on Cedric. Arthur had pulled Merlin to the front of the group, berating him for the incident earlier. They arrived in a clearing where they tied up the horses and continued on foot.

Everyone's attention was quickly drawn to an overgrown bush as it rustled with the sound of a rather large animal. The smaller group if beaters slowly approached the bush, bats at the ready. Before they could get to close, a huge boar stormed out of the bush, surprising everyone at it's size and ferocity. Gwaine immediately went on the defensive, falling into the protector roll that he possessed for years with Genevieve. Genevieve, however, was more concerned about her brother. Unbeknownst to Gwaine, Genevieve had been prepared and had created a protection charm for both herself, and Gwaine. She had intended to create one for Arthur, but didn't have it ready for today. The again, she also didn't expect to need it today, or anytime soon, especially with Merlin being around.

During the chaos that ensued, Merlin dropped his bat, turning his focus to Arthur and protecting the Prince. He saw that Arthur was tossed from his horse, but was able to get up quickly. However, while Arthur was distracted, the boar began to charge towards him. Merlin hastened to use his magic to propel a discarded spear into the giant boar, killing it instantly. Arthur turned around, surprised to see the best dead, with a spear sticking out of it.

"Who threw that?" He questioned, looking at the group gathered around him. Everyone cast glances around, unsure of who could have thrown the spear. Genevieve, however, kept her eyes to Merlin, who merely shrugged at her knowing look.

After a short amount of time had passed, a small "ahem" was heard. Every head turned towards the origin of the voice, and Genevieve was unsurprised to see that Cedric was taking the credit for the kill.

"Was it you?" Arthur asked incredulously. Cedric gave a small nod. " You just saved my life," the Prince stated, a small sense of humbleness evident in his voice.

"Honestly, Sire, it was nothing," came the mock protest of Cedric's. Genevieve could feel herself glaring at the man, her distrust evident on her face.

"I shall be forever indebted to you. You must be rewarded!" Arthur declared to the hunting party.

"No, I couldn't possibly," Cedric again weakly protested.

"Come on. What do you wish for?"

"I desire only one thing, Sire," the man simpered. Genevieve could tell that he was manipulating her brother but made no moves to stop it. If Arthur wanted to be an idiot, then so be it.

"Anything," Arthur promised, not fully thinking through what he was saying.

"A position in the royal household," Cedric declared with more confidence than he had shown before.

"Good! Consider it done," Arthur looked around the small hunting party before giving out a laugh. He noticed his sister's glare, but decided to ignore it. Just because she has magic doesn't mean she is all knowing.

Cedric turned to Merlin, a sly grin on his face. "You can have that back," he declared before shoving the bat into Merlin's scrawny body, which just served to anger both Gwaine and Genevieve. Merlin gave out a grunt of pain at the harsh treatment. Cedric apologize insincerely.

The hunting party returned to Camelot, where Genevieve immediately stormed away to her room, ignoring her brother and his newfound servant. Arthur looked at his sister's retreating form before turning to Gwaine, who had remained by his side for the time being. "Where is she off to then?"

"Probably her room to get away from Cedric, and you, Arthur," Gwaine informed the prince before following his fiancée up the stairs and to her chambers, prepared for a rant. However, Arthur followed closely behind him, still trying to figure why Genevieve would have a problem with Cedric, who seemed perfectly normal and alright.

As they approached the door to Genevieve's chamber, they heard a loud crash, followed by angry muttering. Both rushed in, assuming that she was under attack. Instead, they found the room ransacked and Genevieve red in the face, a murderous glint in her eye. "Gen," Gwaine said calmly as he approached with his hands raised as if he were addressing a wild animal, "what's wrong?"

"My idiot brother!" She yelled, seemingly unaware that said idiot brother was behind Gwaine. "How could he just hire that no good, conniving, little weasel?! How blind is Arthur? Cedric is just using him!" She ranted, stalking through the room, magically repairing it as she passed through it. Gwaine motioned behind his back for Arthur to run away, and quickly. Arthur wisely decided to leave rather than stay behind and deal with his sister's wrath. Gwaine stayed with her through her rant, helping her calm down.

Elsewhere in the castle, Arthur was escaping from his sister's wrath. The only person he knew that could rival his sister's wrath was his father's, which was a scary thought. He was now wondering the halls of the castle, thinking about what his sister had been yelling about. Arthur did not see himself as an idiot, and really disliked when his sister called him one. He was lost in thought and wasn't paying attention to where he was going until he ran into someone and sent them crashing to the floor. He was violently thrown from his train of thought and began to focus on the person he had so rudely run into. Much to his surprise, it was Isabel. Arthur immediately began to help the girl stand up, feeling guilty that he had been so lost in thought that he hadn't even heard the poor girl. "Are you alright?" He asked, his hand wrapped around hers. She gave a small nod, not wanting to speak. Isabel, despite her better judgement, had decided to go and investigate the tomb some more, and it had left her shaken all day. She too had been lost in thought and hadn't seen Arthur.

Arthur could feel her hand shaking and immediately grew concerned. "Isabel, what's wrong?" He inquired. Instead of answering, the maidservant began crying uncontrollably. Unthinkingly, Arthur wrapped the weeping girl in his arms and began to comfort her. When her crying had subsided enough, Arthur began to escort her back to Gaius's chambers.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Merlin woke early that morning, not aware that Isabel was still asleep or what had occurred the night before. He hurried down to the kitchen to retrieve Arthur's breakfast before scurrying back through the castle, up the many stairs, to the Prince's chambers. He rushed right in, not even bothering to knock.

"Is that lunch?" Arthur asked as Merlin entered the room, a snide smirk on his face already. Merlin looked at Arthur in shock, finally seeing all the food that was placed in front of him, more than what Merlin usually brought him.

"No, it's breakfas.." Merlin saw Cedric walking about the room.

"This is lovely, Cedric," Arthur complimented the man. He was more interested in seeing how riled up he could get Merlin than paying attention to the man who was wondering his chambers. He wasn't going to keep Cedric around long, just enough to annoy Merlin and teach him to better serve Arthur.

"Is there anything else that you need doing, Sire?" Merlin questioned. He may dislike Cedric, but with him taking care of Arthur, and all of Merlin's chores, Merlin might have a day off, and he could spend it with Isabel.

"No, I think Cedric's got it all covered," Arthur told his loyal servant.

"Oh," Cedric interjected. "I regret, Sire, there is one thing I failed to do. Uh, muck out your horses." Cedric gave Merlin a self-satisfied look, knowing that mucking out horses was the worst job in the castle.

"Off you go," Arthur told Merlin, focusing on paperwork that his father had sent him.

"I'll get the door for you," Cedric grinned as he escorted Merlin out of the Prince's chambers.

Merlin stomped off through the castle, hating Cedric even more than he had before. As he was stomping off, he nearly ran into Isabel, who was running through the halls. "Bel!" He called out to his sister, his day brightening up just by being able to see her.

"Sorry, Merlin! Can't talk! Have to get Uncle!" She gave a quick wave to her brother before continuing on to their Uncle's chambers. Merlin continued on to the Prince's stable.

Isabel quickly arrived at her Uncle's chambers, bursting through the door so quickly that it slammed open. Gaius turned around quickly, fearing the worse. Instead, he saw the nearly grinning face of his niece. "Isabel, what bring you here?" He asked as he moved to be closer to the girl.

Isabel took several deep breaths before responding. "Morgana needs you, Uncle. She sent me to fetch you and Genevieve." As she was telling Gaius this, she was reaching out to Genevieve mentally, letting her know that Morgana wanted to talk as quickly as possible. Genevieve quickly replied, letting the young witch know that she would be there as quickly as possible. Gaius and Isabel quickly made their way to Morgana's chamber. They arrived at the room at the same time that Genevieve did, and all three made their way inside quickly.

Genevieve quickly moved to the bed where Morgana was still laying. "What's wrong, Morgana?" She asked the girl as she took one of Morgana's shaking hands into her own.

"It was a nightmare, a horrible, horrible nightmare." Morgana's voice was shaking, showing how afraid she truly was.

"What was this dream about?" Gaius questioned, hoping that it was just a dream, and not a vision.

"A bird," Morgana replied, taking comfort that Genevieve was there, and would believe her and advocate for her, even against Gaius.

"What kind of bird?"

"A raven." It took all of Gaius's control not to jump at the mention of Cornelius Sigan's favored bird, and personal symbol.

"A raven?"

"It was terrifying, Gaius. What do you think it means?"

"Probably nothing," Gaius moved to assure the king's ward. Genevieve was giving him a look that said she didn't believe him.

"It's happening again, isn't it?" Genevieve let go of Morgana's hand to draw the girl into a hug, hoping to comfort the terrified girl.

"Morgana, one raven doesn't mean that your nightmares are returning. Are you taking the sleeping draughts I prepared for you? I'll get Gwen to give you something stronger." Gaius dismissed her fears, hoping to keep her secret as long as possible, even from the young woman.

"Like a blow to the head? I'm sure she wants to," Morgana said, only partially joking. Genevieve let out a small laugh to take some of the tension out of the room. Gaius took his leave of the ladies and was surprised when Genevieve began to follow him out.

When the door closed, Genevieve pounced. "Why have you not told her about her gifts, Gaius?" She demanded, fury rolling off of her.

"And let Uther kill her? I dare not tell her."

"She deserves to know, Gaius. Especially if they have become more frequent."

"Princess, Uther is still king, and magic is still outlawed here. She wouldn't have the same protection that you have."

"She will be under my protection," Genevieve imperiously stated. Gaius could see her father's stubbornness shining through. She was very much like her father, which could be a good thing. Even the way she was looking at Gaius was more like Uther than it was her mother.

When Gaius didn't reply, Genevieve swept away, heading toward the stables with the intention of going for a ride, just wanting to get out of the castle, even for a little bit. She knew of a druid camp nearby, and wanted to go visit and see how they were doing.

She gracefully made her way to the stables, where she could hear arguing occurring. "One mistake I can understand. Everyone has a bad day now and then, but this is one thing after another!" Genevieve could hear Arthur yelling, so she hurried to the stable, where she saw Merlin standing between Arthur and Cedric. It took all her control not to sneer at Cedric.

"I- I don't know what happened!" Merlin was distraught.

"Sire. Please, Sire, don't be too hard on him. He's a good servant, he just... he's tired." Genevieve laughed aloud at this, bringing the three men's attention to her. Arthur shot her a look that said to stay quiet, which she returned with a look of her own that dared him to try to make her be quiet.

"I am not tired!" Merlin protested, glad to see that Genevieve was there because he knew she would side with him.

"Maybe... maybe if he had the evening off..." Cedric suggested.

 _Merlin! Don't let that happen!_ Genevieve sent a message to Merlin, realizing that Cedric wanted Merlin out of the way for some reason.

"I don't want the evening off," Merlin protested.

"A good night's rest..." Cedric continued as if Merlin hadn't said anything.

"I did not fall asleep!" Merlin all but yelled, trying to convince Arthur of his innocence. He knew that Genevieve was on his side, but he needed Arthur to listen, and pay attention.

"I'm more than willing to take over his duties tonight." Once again, Cedric continued as if Merlin hadn't said anything.

"Perhaps you're right," Arthur responded thoughtfully, being taken in my Cedric's charm. It was at this point Genevieve made herself known to all three gentlemen, and she was furious. Arthur wisely took a step back from his sister, realizing just how angry she was. She even scared Merlin, who could feel her anger through his magic. Cedric looked vaguely uncomfortable, but he couldn't identify why he was feeling this way. His magic was learned, not something he was born with.

Merlin, in an effort to keep Genevieve from killing Cedric, and quite possibly her brother, spoke up, bringing the attention back to him. "No."

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur told his, completely forgetting what Merlin was protesting because of the look on his sister's face. He would never tell her this, but when she was angry, she reminded him of their father.

"Can't you see what he's trying to do?" Merlin was desperate. This whole situation was getting out of hand. "He's trying to get rid of me, and if you weren't a clotpole, you'd see that!" All eyes turned to him. Genevieve had a smile on her face, liking what Merlin had called her brother, promising herself that she would use that word on Arthur more often. Arthur, however, was furious at what Merlin had called him. Merlin was his servant and while he may not be the best servant in Arthur's eyes (really, he could barely do the duties assigned to him without help and refused to address Arthur as anything else but Arthur), but this was too much. He should not have called him a clotpole, whatever that was.

"A what?" Arthur asked menacingly.

Cedric saw the opportunity and took it, further making the situation worse. "Clotpole," he gleefully informed the gaping prince. "He said clotpole."

"Cedric's right. He can look after me tonight. You can go home and think about whether you want to be my servant or not." Arthur was furious, and he had the bad habit of reacting before he thought his actions through. He didn't think about the entire protest from Merlin, he only reacted to being called a clotpole.

"But..."

"Go." Merlin looked at Arthur in disbelief before looking at Genevieve for help. All Genevieve could do was shrug her shoulders. She would talk, or most likely yell, at Arthur later when she managed to corner him. Merlin all but fled from the stable, tears threatening to coat his face. He knew that Genevieve was on his side and would deal with Arthur, but he expected so much more from Arthur, especially after the whole Gwaine ordeal.

Genevieve watched the retreating form of Merlin, fury rising as he ran further and further away. She turned to face her brother, and his new servant. "Cedric, leave us, now," she all but spat.

"And who are you to order me around?" He questioned in feigned politeness.

Genevieve mustered all her royal authority. "I am Princess of Camelot, and you will leave us." Both men shivered unconsciously at her impression of Uther. Cedric quickly left, with a gentle magical nudge from Genevieve that he was unaware of. Arthur, however, knew he couldn't escape, but still looked for a quick exit. When none was available, he turned to face his sister, giving a sheepish smile. "You are an idiot," she said to her brother. Arthur gave a small sigh of relief, figuring that was the worse of what was to come from his sister. "Merlin would give his life up for you, and has proven himself a trustworthy servant, but you choose to believe someone we don't know at all who, for all you know, could be plotting to kill you. But, why would that matter to the great Prince Arthur?" Her rant was spoken, not yelled, which managed to scare Arthur more. He was used to their father, who would yell and rage to get his way. He forgot that while his sister was similar to Uther in many ways, she was scary in her own, quiet way. "This man just happens to come into palace life just as we discover a tomb with unknown riches? Merlin seems to be doing worse in his duties since his arrival, and you believe this stranger over Merlin? Merlin? The same boy who was willing to give his life for Camelot after you killed a unicorn." Arthur thought back to that particular event with a grimace. His own pride had nearly brought destruction to Camelot. "Or, when Merlin drank poison because he believed it was meant for you," causing another image, one of Merlin dying and Isabel crying fearfully to Arthur's mind. He knew that Genevieve was right, but he didn't want to admit that he was wrong. "But, why would any of that matter. You are having your ego stroked."

Genevieve gave her brother one last look, too angered to even continue her beratement of him. She turned on her heels, causing her dress to billow out from behind her, and stormed off, intent on finding Gwaine and going to a nice long ride to clear her head, and go see the druid camp. She quickly found Gwaine, who, upon seeing how angry she was, immediately suggested they go for a nice, long, ride. Genevieve gave a small laugh, thankful that her fiancé knew her so well.

They quickly took off, enjoying the beautiful day. When they were out of sight of Camelot, they quickly adjusted their course to enter into the forest. Following her magical senses, Genevieve led them to the druid camp, where both were immediately greeted warmly. Aglain, the leader of this group of Druids, came up to the Princess and her Knight. "Welcome, Princess." He gave her a small bow, which she returned.

"Hello, brother. How are you doing?" She inquired.

"We are well, Princess. Your father's forces don't come this far into the forest, so we are safe." He noticed her troubled expression. "What troubles you, Princess?"

Genevieve related her story, explaining how much of an idiot her brother was. She didn't reveal Merlin's identity, however, which was odd because she trusted the Druids, but a small voice told her to keep quiet Merlin's identity.

Aglain sat in silence after Genevieve finished her story. "And you say that the Lady Morgana had a dream about a raven?"

"Yes, why?"

"You may not be aware of this, Princess, but the Ladt Morgana possess magic, more specifically she is a seer," Aglain watched the Princess's face. Much to his surprise, there was no look of shock or confusion, so, he continued. "Her dreams are when her visions come easily to her. For her to be dreaming of a raven does not bode well for Camelot. A great danger is coming," he informed the couple.

Genevieve and Gwaine exchanged a significant look. "Thank you, Aglain. If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask. Be careful, my friend."

"Until we see each other again, Princess," Aglain replied. The couple quickly returned to their horses and made their way back to Camelot, Genevieve certain that Cedric was the cause of this great danger coming to Camelot.

They arrived right before nightfall, and thus were unable to do anything regarding Cedric. They parted ways and went to their respective rooms.

Morgana had dismissed Isabel early that night and prepared herself for bed. She heard a knock at her door and was pleasantly surprised to find Merlin standing at her door, sleeping draught in hand. "Merlin," she greeted with a small smile. "Where is Gaius?" She questioned.

"He had some errands to take care of, so he asked me to bring you your sleeping draught tonight." Merlin couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful woman standing in front of him. She had captured his attention since he first met her, like had happened with most men, but Merlin knew that he would never have a chance with the King's Ward, so he just hoped to be friends with her. Unbeknownst to him, Morgana shared his feelings of attraction and his fears of Uther.

"Oh! I was beginning to worry that he had forgotten," she unthinkingly said, instead choosing to focus on the handsome servant that was standing nervously in front of her. If only she could hear his thoughts like she could with the druid boy. Things would be much simpler then.

They stood in an awkward silence for a few moments before Merlin realized that he was still holding the sleeping draught. He quickly, and shakily, handed the small bottle to Morgana before quickly making his escape. He got back to the room he shared with Isabel, his face burning red.

"Merlin!" His sister exclaimed with a small laugh. She knew that her brother had been by to see Morgana, and that he tended to return in a similar state any time he had seen her. Merlin gaped at his sister, unsure of what to say. He looked over to his sister, who was laughing so hard her face was turning the same shade of red that Merlin's face was currently. Her laughter was infectious, and he soon began to laugh with her. It had been a while since he heard her laugh, and he was glad that she was laughing, even if it was at him.

After they had finally finished laughing, they both went to bed and were soon soundly asleep. The castle as a whole was quiet as all settled in for the night. It was at this time that Cedric snuck into the tunnels, and into the tomb, where he was delighted to discover the great treasures hidden away there. His greed caused him to take as much as he possibly could, including a glowing blue gem that sat on top of the coffin. He gleefully pried it out of its resting place and cradled it, as the glow grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly, the blue glow escaped from the gem, and found a new home in Cedric.

Arthur woke up the next day to a pounding at his door. He slowly, and angrily, moved to his door, prepared to berate whoever it was that was interrupting his sleep. He flung open the door, mouth opened to begin his tirade, and saw his sister standing there, hand on hip, angry expression on her face. "Good morning, Genevieve," Arthur quickly said, hoping to stop whatever tirade his sister obviously had planned. She pushed past him into the room, and sat on his rumpled bed. Arthur quickly closed the door.

"Don't you "Good morning, Genevieve," me, Arthur Pendragon! Someone used powerful magic last night!"

"Well, couldn't it have been Merlin, or Isabel?" Arthur asked, trying to figure out why his sister was so mad at someone using magic.

"Isabel was the one who informed me of this, Arthur. If it had been her, or Merlin, she wouldn't have bothered telling me. For her to tell me means that it is bad! She was shaking, Arthur!" She had stood up at this point, advancing on her brother. "Which can only mean that the magical signature was the same as what was in the tomb, which in turn means," she had reached Arthur at this point, "that someone messed with the tomb!" She hit her brother with each word, showing just how upset she was.

"That's impossible!" Arthur defended himself, while quickly moving away from his very angry sister. He wasn't running (Pendragons don't run), he told himself.

"If it's impossible, then why don't you go check the tomb," she challenged him in the way only a sibling could. Arthur stormed over to the box where he kept the key, grabbed it, and stormed out of the room to the tomb, Genevieve following close behind. They ran into Merlin on their way down, and Arthur ordered him to get Gaius and meet them down in the tomb. After Merlin scurried off, Arthur and Genevieve continued to the tomb.

When they got there, Arthur was shocked to find the tomb ransacked. Merlin and Gaius quickly arrived behind the two royals. "Sound the warning bell," Arthur managed to say, finally. Genevieve, despite feeling pleased with herself for being right, was wondering around the tomb. She noticed the divot from where the jewel had been and walked over to examine it. She didn't notice that Arthur had left, furious that someone had broken into the tomb, nor did she pay attention to the conversation being had by Merlin and Gaius.

"Gaius," She finally called out. "Can you come here really quick?" She politely asked. Gaius made his way over to the inquisitive Princess. When he arrived, she pointed at the divot. "What was here?"

"There was a large, blue gem that was shaped like a heart, Milady," he informed her, concerned that it was no longer there. He looked over to Merlin, who understood immediately what was going, and rushed out of the room in search of Arthur.

"And who's tomb is this, Gaius?"

"From the evidence I have gathered, Milady, the tomb belongs to Cornelius Sigan."

Genevieve slowly made her way back to her chambers, deep in thought. It was the sounds of shouting and struggling that brought her out of her musings. She moved to where the sounds were coming from and noticed Merlin struggling against the guards. Before she could move over to the young warlock, Gwaine swooped in, talking to the guards. When he left, the guards were laughing, and Merlin was no longer struggling. Gwaine saw Genevieve and sauntered over to her in his usual confident way.

"Hello, love," he greeted her before kissing her lightly on the cheek. "Did you know that your brother doesn't appreciate being called a clotpole, and having his intelligence questioned?" He asked while informing her of what had happened with Merlin.

"I know. Why do you think I constantly question his intelligence? Like by hiring some man off the street to be his manservant." Gwaine let out a chuckle.

"Well, you have a bit more power than Merlin does in this situation, love. Arthur does not see the value in having a servant who speaks his mind."

"He wouldn't," she agreed. They began walking along the corridor, enjoying each other's presence. "Were you not able to help Merlin?" She asked, breaking their companionable silence.

"Sadly, no. Your brother, and Cedric, had ordered the boy to be taken to the dungeons, and those particular guards are terrified of your brother and wouldn't dare to risk his anger by letting the boy go."

"So, he's going to be stuck there until Cedric does whatever he has planned and proves that Merlin was right. Which means we can't do anything until Cedric shows his hand."

They looked at each other apprehensively, knowing that anything could happen at this point. "I have training with Arthur soon," Gwaine informed her.

"And I need to go talk to Isabel, see what she is feeling currently." They parted ways, both apprehensive about what could occur.

Genevieve found Isabel in Morgana's chambers, looking out the window. "Isabel," she said softly, trying to gently get the attention of the maidservant. Isabel slowly turned around, allowing Genevieve to see that her eyes were glowing gold. Genevieve hurried over quickly and gathered her maidservant into her arms, shielding her from view.

"The dark sorcerer returns," she ominously said. Genevieve took note of what the girl said before moving the two of them to her own chambers, where she could keep the young witch from view.

They remained there until after nightfall, Genevieve comforting the girl who was scared witless. Genevieve had finally calmed the girl down enough for her to stop shaking when Camelot's warning bells went off. Genevieve told the girl to stay put before rushing out of the room and making her way to the Council chamber, where she knew her father would be. To get to the Council Chamber, she had to walk through the courtyard, which she always did.

As she was walking through the courtyard, she noticed the destruction that had taken place. She felt her stomach drop before hearing her name being yelled. Instead of reacting to the voice, she whipped around, noticing a creature bearing down on her. Before she could use her magic, something heavy rammed into her, taking her down to the ground and causing all the air to leave her lungs. She felt the air move from where the creature swooped in.

"Genevieve, what are you doing out here?" She heard the familiar voice of her brother say.

"The warning bells sounded. What did you expect me to do? Stay in my room while Camelot is under attack?"

Arthur helped her up, looking at her now rumpled dress that was stained beyond repair. He noticed that it was the same dress from earlier, which indicated to him that she hadn't gone to bed yet. "It's not safe out here, Gen," he told her, using his nickname for her. He had heard Gwaine use it once, but had since used pet names for his sister.

"Arthur, those are creatures made of magic. It's not safe anywhere," she forcefully told him. Arthur looked at the night sky, looking to see if one of the creatures was about to attack again. He didn't see any of them, but that was a small comfort. If Genevieve was right about those creatures being made from magic (and she usually was), then it wouldn't matter what Arthur did, he couldn't defeat them.

"Be as that may, you are a Princess. You should be in a safer place. This isn't your duty, Gen. Please." He was begging, and he knew it. The only time he ever begged was when it involved his sister, and it was usually to her face that he begged. Their father had always said that a Pendragon never begged, but when it came to the twins, they both begged the other constantly.

Genevieve nodded, agreeing to Arthur's request that she go somewhere safer. He escorted her to a temporary ward, where Gaius had set up his materials to be able to help those who had been injured by the creatures. Morgana and Gwen were already here, running around helping where they could. Genevieve saw Gaius stop Morgana at one point, most likely admonishing her. She walked over to where Gaius was, ready to offer her help, when she noticed that Merlin was still oddly absent. She started to wander around, offering comfort to the people laid up in the temporary ward that were awake enough to see her while looking for Merlin.

After a while, she gave up on looking for him in the room, having gone to every bed and every person in the room, and snuck out, intent on finding either Merlin, or a way to stop the creatures. She decided to make her way to Kilgharrah, hoping that if nothing else he would be willing to help her, when she ran into Merlin, who was exiting a corridor. "Merlin!" She exclaimed as she nearly lost her balance.

"Genevieve! I was just on my way..." He hesitated, unsure if she knew about the dragon, but figured that if she didn't know about him already, she should know about him now. "I was on my way to see the dragon."

"Oh! Good! I'll let you go down there, then. He kinda gets overwhelmed by more than one person visiting him at a time," she informed the warlock. She turned away from him, and made her way to the courtyard, fully deciding to ignore her brother and go help.

When she made it back to the courtyard, most of the knights were on the stone floor, unmoving. She quickly looked around, praying to the Triple Goddess that she wouldn't see Arthur or Gwaine laying there. What she found was the final group of knights, with Arthur and Gwaine at the front, leading the charge. She immediately began incanting, saying protection spells over the two most important men in her life, hoping that it would be enough to keep them safe.

She kept incanting, even as all of the other knights ran away, closing and locking the doors before either of her men could make it to them. They had their backs to the door, exchanged a look, and ran straight towards one of the creatures, prepared to die to defend Camelot. They were each knocked unconscious. They would have been killed if it hadn't been for Genevieve. She was prepared to move out from the covered portion of the courtyard when she heard Merlin cry out "Astrice!"

The creatures immediately broke apart, and Cedric appeared. "Who would've believed it? You, a sorcerer, and a powerful one."

"I won't let you hurt them." Genevieve took this opportunity to sneak out from where she was hiding and moved to where Arthur and Gwaine were laying, hoping to be able to move them somewhere a bit safer.

"And you're going to stop me?"

"I'll stop you."

"He does not deserve your loyalty. He treats you like a slave." Sigab was doing everything he could to turn Merlin to his side, not realizing that the boy that stood in front of him was the strongest magic user to ever exist.

"That's not true."

"He cast you aside without a moment's thought.

"That doesn't matter."

"But it must hurt so much to be so put upon, so overlooked, when all the while you have such power."

"That's the way it has to be."

"Does it? You're young, Merlin. Look inside yourself. You have yet to discover your true power. I can help you. Think, Merlin. To have the world appreciate your greatness. To have Arthur know you for what you are."

"He already does," Genevieve spoke out, bringing the attention to herself. "You don't realize the true power that Merlin possesses, Sigan. But Merlin does. Merlin has power you could never imagine."

Sigan shot a blast of magic towards the Princess, knocking her off her feet and between the bodies of her brother and fiance. Sigan continued trying to convince Merlin to join his side, to take over Camelot, but Merlin kept refusing.

When Sigan finally realized that Merlin wouldn't join him, he decided that the next best thing was to possess him. Merlin immediately began chanting in the Ancient Language, hoping that it would work and would contain the spirit of Sigan.

Gaius had entered the courtyard just as Sigan left Cedric's body and quickly, but cautiously, made his way over to his nephew, who turned around slowly, only to reveal that Sigan's soul was returned to its gem, and Merlin was unharmed. Arthur and Gwaine slowly woke up at this point and immediately noticed that Genevieve was unconscious between the two of them. They exchanged a look with Gaius who nodded to them to take her to her rooms, away from Uther and other prying eyes.

Genevieve woke up the next morning, feeling oddly refreshed despite what had occurred. She knew that if she was waking up, then Merlin had succeeded in defeating Sigan, which was a breath of relief. Now, it was time to focus on her wedding.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

It was a day before the wedding, and Camelot was celebrating. A tournament was going on, and on the final day. Competitors had come from all over Albion. Genevieve was a much-loved princess, and many were happy that she had found love. Uther's plan to shatter her engagement with Gwaine and marry her to another kingdom proved fruitless, as all princes in attendance were there to celebrate the Princess of Camelot.

Genevieve hadn't seen Gwaine since the start of the tournament. Morgana was hell-bent on getting Genevieve's wedding perfect, including her dress. If Morgana didn't force Genevieve to not participate in the tournament, the dress would never be finished. Genevieve, however, was very skilled at hiding from Morgana and Guinevere, sometimes for hours, other times for no longer than half an hour. Morgana and Guinevere became very frustrated with Genevieve when this occurred, because the dress was a wedding present from the two young women.

Gwaine and Arthur were participating in the tournament, and both were doing well. Arthur was competing in the joust, which was considered to be the main focus of the tournament, while Gwaine decided to focus on swordplay instead, which, in theory, would allow him to spend more time with Genevieve. However, if he wasn't fighting, Genevieve wasn't in the stands. He was currently seated in the royal box, watching the joust, with Isabel by his side. He had begun to see the young serving girl as a sister, and had already proven that he would protect her as such. To his right sat Uther, his soon to be father-in-law whom he didn't like (and the feeling was mutual). To Uther's right sat he Lady Morgana, who had managed to leave Genevieve in the very capable hands of Guinevere.

Uther sat in silence, fuming that his poorly thought out plan didn't work. He was pleased with the turnout of the tournament, there hadn't been a tournament this large since he threw one to celebrate his engagement to his beloved Igraine. Plus, with this many kingdoms represented, he could convince them to ban magic within their kingdoms.

The crowd was cheering as the next competitors entered the tilt. No one noticed that one of the competitors was smaller than the rest. No one had noticed the entire tournament, and it was unlikely that they would notice now. Gwiane would have surely noticed had he not been pouting about not seeing Genevieve, and Uther, Morgana, and Arthur (who had joined his family in the royal box following his defeat in the tournament just a few rounds earlier) were in a deep conversation about the turnout of the tournament and the wedding that was to take place the following day. The increased cheering brought their attention back to the present round of jousting (which was the final of the tournament). One of the jousters was flat on his back, while the other was circling the arena, hyping up the crowd. They then sedately approached the royal box as their competition was escorted off the field by Gauis and Merlin.

Uther stood, arms raised to silence the crowd. Arthur examined the knight in front of them and recognized the armor as the knight who had defeated him. As the noise from the crowd died down, Uther began to address the knight, who was the champion of the tournament. "Congratulations, Sir Knight, Champion of the tournament. AS promised, you shall escort the Lady Morgana to the wedding and the wedding feast."

The knight began to remove their helmet, revealing long dark hair to all before her face was revealed, showing those in the royal box that it was Genevieve.

"I thank you for the opportunity, Father, but I think I'll be busy that night." A laugh rippled through the crowd, peasants and royals alike, as they realized who it was that had won the tournament. Morgana, even though she was laughing, was silently fuming. Genevieve had participated in the tournament, despite the fact that her wedding was tomorrow. Was her wedding dress even completed?

Gwaine caught Genevieve's eye and gave her a big grin. He should have realized that she had participated in the tournament, especially when he hadn't seen her during the joust. And, based on Arthur's reaction, Genevieve had been the knight that had defeated him in the joust. It was a good laugh all around.

Genevieve circled the tilt one more time, causing the crowd to cheer again, before leaving the field and returning to her tent, where Guinevere was waiting for her. Gwen helped her remove all the armor, and get dressed back in her dress, looking every bit the princess that she was. Before they could exit the tent, Morgana came storming in. "How could you do that?" She demanded, pushing the other women back into the tent based on her presence alone.

"It's my wedding tournament, Morgana. If I were a prince, I would be expected to participate in the tournament, and expected to win. I have been trained as much, if not more than, as my brother. Besides, Arthur needed to be taken down a peg. He was getting too arrogant for his own good and it is my job as his sister to fix that." Genevieve was nonchalant in her response. Gwen had finished the dress in plenty of time, but had helped her hide that fact so she could participate in the tournament without suspicion.

Before Morgana could respond, Arthur and Gwaine entered the tent, whooping and hollering. Arthur had been upset at first that he had lost the tournament, but when Genevieve revealed herself, he was so proud of her. All the training had paid off, she had proven for all to see that she could protect herself, and more importantly, she had proven to their father that he could no longer beat her into submission. Both men wrapped the Princess into a bone crushing hug.

"Gwen," Genevieve said from between the arms of the two most important men in her life. Gwen moved within eyesight of the Princess. "Go find Merlin and Isabel, please," she requested. Gwen nodded before exiting the tent to go find the two other servants. It was good timing for the serving girl, because Uther came thundering in shortly afterward, furious.

"How dare you," he spat venomously. "How dare you humiliate your brother, and the kingdom like that. I am disgusted by you, by the very thing that you are." Fury surrounded him, fury that hadn't been seen since the death of Igraine. All in the tent trembled before the king, all but Genevieve, who stood her ground, head held high as she stared at her father unflinchingly.

"Leave, now," she coldly said. "Leave, and I won't go before all those nobles out there and tell them everything that you did to me. But if you remain, and continue to berate me, continue to rage and yell at me for demonstrating everything that you taught me, then I will leave, and never return. I will turn every kingdom out there against you. I will show them the truth on why you banned magic."

They continued to stare at each other, each unwavering in their resolve, before Uther finally softened, realizing the full extent of his daughter's words. His fury died, his face fell. His very body seemed to shrink. Arthur took a chance and approached his father. "Father, Genevieve didn't humiliate me or the kingdom. She demonstrated how strong our kingdom truly is. When I take the throne, when I am king, she will be by my side, as she always has been. She will be my closest advisor. By winning the tournament today, she showed all those other kingdoms just how hard she will fight, and how much stronger Camelot is because she is here."

Uther left the tent, no arguing, no fighting back, deep in thought about what had been said. His children had trapped him in a corner, had forced him to change his mind. And he was proud of them. Arthur was right, together they make Camelot stronger.

The day of the wedding was bright and beautiful, almost as radiant as the bride. Her wedding finery was a combination of a beautiful, hand-made wedding dress, and her mother's wedding jewelry. The morning had been spent getting ready, and keeping Gwaine out so he could truly be surprised.

The girls had woken up before the sun had even fully risen. Well, almost all of the girls. Genevieve wanted to sleep in, and she did, going so far as to block her door using magic that would remain until a certain hour, then it would be unlocked for the other girls to swoop in. It was also in place to give Gwaine and Genevieve some time alone before the craziness of the day. Arthur had moved Gwaine into the adjoining room next to Genevieve's just the day before, knowing that it would be easier to move then than try to move everything in the general chaos that a wedding produces.

Gwaine had entered in Genevieve's room shortly after sunrise, surprised to see that she was awake and sitting in front of the window. "Love, what's wrong?" He asked as he wrapped her in a comforting hug.

"My father. He will always be after me, Gwaine. Even with my connections, he could kill me and no one would know." Gwaine could tell that she was scared, more than he had seen her in a while. Gwaine already knew that Uther was an evil man, he had even experienced that himself, but for his own child to fear for her life, that is worse than any evil ever known to man. So Gwaine spent the morning comforting his love, assuring her that everything would be fine, that he would protect her if necessary. He stayed with her until an hour before her spell would end, when he gracefully retreated to his new chambers. He heard when Morgana burst into Genevieve's room, excited for the day and immediately getting started on preparing Genevieve for the wedding. Gwaine let out a small laugh before going to find Arthur and Merlin, hoping that between the two he could be distracted enough to avoid going to see Genevieve.

Morgana had been waiting impatiently outside Genevieve's door with Gwen and Isabel, just waiting for Isabel to tell her when the spell had ended. When Isabel had given the word, Morgana stormed into the room, reminiscent of Uther. Her dress billowed behind her, creating the illusion that she was flying. Much to her surprise, Genevieve was already dressed in her wedding finery.

Morgana gaped, upset that Genevieve had locked her out to get ready for the wedding unassisted. Genevieve gave out a laugh when she saw the other noble woman's face. "Did you expect me to be laying around, delaying the happiest day of my life?" She didn't feel the need to mention that she had a small mental breakdown earlier, due to the fear of her father somehow stopping the wedding.

"I expected you to wait for me to help you get ready."

"And why would I do that? You have to look gorgeous for today. You were the prize to be won in the tournament." Morgana looked quite put out at this statement. She hated being the reward for tournaments and wished that Uther would stop making her a prize to be won. "Besides, if you don't look gorgeous today, how else are you supposed to make all those men jealous that they lost to a woman?" And with that statement, Morgana's grin returned. Genevieve's win yesterday had been a victory for both women. Genevieve had freed Morgana from being escorted by some truly repulsive men, and had allowed her to be able to pick who she wanted to escort her. Ironically enough, the man that Morgana wanted to escort her was unavailable for the day, but she couldn't mention that to anyone. Their relationship, if it could even be called that, was still in the budding stage, and she didn't want to do anything that would jinx it, or bring it to Uther's attention. He would passionately disapprove, and possibly kill the man who had Morgana's attention.

"I'm not going to be the one that everyone is going to be focused on," Morgana told her before yawning. She hadn't been getting much sleep the past few days, in part due to planning the wedding, but also because her nightmares were returning. Genevieve noticed the yawn, but before she could say anything, Merlin came running into the room.

"Merlin, what's wrong?" Genevieve demanded, moving to the servant.

"One of the visiting Prince's has gone missing," he informed the room full of ladies, while giving his sister a significant look. A prince may be missing, but magic was involved, which meant it was up to them to fix it.

"Which prince?" Genevieve demanded, concerned that something truly horrible had happened that would post-pone her wedding. Yes, it may be a bit selfish, she told herself, but she deserved this one day where nothing would go wrong, where she would truly have her happiness within her hands, and always have it.

"Prince Albert," Merlin responded. Before he could tell her about his suspicions of magic, Genevieve let out a curse, surprising all in the room. Gwaine had influenced her more than she had let on. She continued cursing as she stormed out of the room, throwing off her wedding jewels and dress, her hair tussled from these actions. Merlin quickly averted his eyes, knowing that Arthur would not hesitate to beat him mercilessly if he even found out that Merlin had been in the room while his sister got undressed.

"That Prince," she spat, showing that she wished to use a word far worse than prince to describe this man, "has been after me since I first visited his kingdom. He absolutely despises Gwaine because I chose Gwaine over him." She threw on another dress, choosing one she could move in easily and wouldn't be noticed in. Everyone continued to stare at her, having difficulties processing what she was saying because they were almost all still in shock. The only one who wasn't was Isabel. Isabel, though she had been assigned to the Princess for a short time, she was used to such outbursts as this, and had come to realise that Genevieve used words very familiar to Gwaine. "Has anyone seen Gwaine recently?" She demanded. She was met with empty stares and one head shaking no. She gave Isabel a grateful nod before rushing out of the room, going in search of her fiancee and the missing prince.

Merlin exchanged a look with Isabel before the two also rushed out of the room, this time the two were going in search of Arthur to inform him of the newest development. They found Arthur in his chambers, where Uther was as well, both pacing the floor. "Merlin!" Arthur shouted upon seeing his servant. "Where's Genevieve?"

"I don't know. She rushed out of the room. She said-"

"What do you mean you don't know where she is, boy?" Uther demanded angrily.

"She left the room, Sire," Isabel gently informed the king. Uther turned his focus on her, anger dying slightly. He motioned impatiently for the servant to continue.

"Once Merlin mentioned the name of the missing Prince, the Princess rushed out of the room, saying something about Gwaine being in danger." Isabel could feel two very intense stares. She felt her brother gently grasp her hand, giving her some much needed support.

"Why would Gwaine be in danger, Isabel?" Arthur asked herm trying to calm down his panicking mind. A prince disappearing was bad enough, his sister's fiancee being in danger was sure to cause a crisis for everyone at the wedding.

Isabel opened her mouth to respond, but Merlin answered for her. "The Princess mentioned that this particular prince hates Gwaine because Genevieve chose him over the Prince, Sire."

Uther paced the room, memories of his plan coming back to him. He had searched all over before the tournament for a man such as this Prince, who would be willing to marry his daughter, but he hadn't been able to find anyone. Now, it turns out that there was a man who had pursued his daughter, and he was a Prince!

"Merlin, fetch me the guest list," Arthur demanded of his servant. Merlin gave a shallow bow before leaving the room. Isabel made to follow before Uther stopped her.

"Has my daughter ever mentioned this man to you before?"

"No, Sire," she told him. And even if Genevieve had mentioned it before, Isabel wouldn't have told Uther. It was an unspoken thing among the group not to mention anything about Genevieve to Uther.

Before Isabel could make her escape from the presence of the magic-hating king, Merlin returned with the guest list that he had cajoled Morgana into letting him borrow. Not that it had taken much to convince the King's Ward, but he still had to. He immediately handed the list to Arthur who began to read the neatly transcribed list of names and kingdoms (when applicable). Much like he expected, Prince Albert's name, and kingdom, were not on the list. He walked over to his father, who finally released his bruising hold on the maidservant.

"Father, he isn't on this list. Genevieve doesn't even have his kingdom listed."

"Then this is a declaration of war. Another ruler has entered my kingdom without my permission." Uther's anger was stirred. How dare this snot-nosed prince come into his kingdom! It didn't even cross his mind that this Prince was taking care of his "Gwaine problem." His pride was being called into question, and as with all men when his pride is being called into question, all previous thoughts of hatred to a specific individual are forgotten.

Uther rushed out of the room, anger causing him to stomp. Arthur was hot on his heels, concerned for his sister.

Genevieve had gone to the Great Dragon after she left her room. She had been remiss in visiting the Great Dragon, and she hated that her first visit to him was to ask him for help.

It wasn't hard for her to enter the underground cavern. Uther, for some unknown reason to her, had stopped posting guards outside the entrance. She quickly and quietly descended the hewn stairs. Despite how quiet she was, her footsteps still echoed down into the chamber. The dragon could hear the footsteps, and gave a small smile, figuring that it was Merlin coming down due to some magical emergency that the young warlock couldn't figure anything out. Much to his surprise, it wasn't Merlin entering his chamber, or even sweet Isabel. It was the fiery Princess.

"Princess, it has been a long time since I have seen you," Kilgharrah greeted the Princess.

"Kilgharrah," she said breathily, her heart racing from the sprint from her room to the cavern.

"What brings you here, Priestess?" Kilgharrah tended to switch between calling Genevieve "Princess" and "Priestess," for reasons unknown to her.

"My fiance has been kidnapped, Kilgharrah. I wanted to know if you could find him, or sense where he is." Kilgharrah closed his eyes, concentrating for the hopeful princess.

"Ah!" He finally said. Genevieve perked up, hoping that he had found something. "Your fiance was taken by a jealous rival. He intends to kill your fiance." He was simply stating that which she already knew. She waited with bated breath to see if he would say anything else. He remained silent for a few minutes longer. "I can't see much, but I can tell that you that he will be safe."

Genevieve let out a sigh of relief. Just knowing that he would be safe was a great relief. She thanked him and quickly made her way out of the castle. She had just reached the door when her father caught up to her.

"Genevieve, where have you been?" He demanded.

"Looking around the castle for Gwaine."

"And were you able to find him?" He sneered.

"No. Albert has kidnapped him." They were both remaining civil to the other, but the undertones of their conversation revealed how much they truly didn't want to have this conversation.

Arthur walked up at this time, helping diffuse the situation. "Father. There is evidence that the Prince snuck out of Camelot using the tunnel that runs through the armory. And he seemed to be dragging something, or someone, behind him."

"Show me," Genevieve demanded. Arthur didn't hesitate in taking her down to the armory. Uther started to follow, then thought better of it. He would do his own preparation at this time.

Arthur and Genevieve made their way down to the armory. When they arrived, she was surprised to see Merlin and Isabel standing there. "What?" She asked, nto sure how to express herself in this situation.

"We are here to help, in any way that we can," Merlin told her. She gave a smile to the witch and wizard, grateful that they were her friends and would help her.

"Thank you," she murmured to her friends.

"Morgana and Gwen are in the lower town, asking around there if the people saw anything," Isabel supplied.

"Now," Arthur interrupted, "we need to follow this tunnel and see what we can find. Hopefully we can find Gwaine, unharmed." The group descended into the tunnel. They followed the winding tunnel to the end, where it let out into the forest. Genevieve immediately began to chant in the Ancient Language, performing a tracking spell. Her eyes flashed the tell-tell gold that signified that the spell was working. It caused little globes of light to make a path, which the two sets of siblings quickly followed.

They made their way deeper and deeper into the forest, following the flickering lights until they came upon a campsite. The four young people hid behind some foliage, spying on the camp, looking for any signs of movement. As Genevieve was examining the camp, she saw Gwaine, tied unconscious to a nearby tree. Without thinking, she stormed into the camp, intent on freeing her knight. It was in her favor that she was able to make it to Gwaine without being seen. She quickly began to free him, using a dagger she kept on her to loosen the knots that were tightly tied.

She was so preoccupied with Gwaine that she didn't hear someone coming up behind her. The Prince, Albert, raised his sword, prepared to strike down both the Princess and her precious knight.

Albert was extremely jealous in a general sense. When he first met Genevieve, several years ago, he fell "madly in love" with her. She was beautiful and would bring him lots of power. He pursued her, wanting her for her looks and position. He all but followed her to each kingdom that she visited, trying his best to seduce the Princess. Genevieve was never interested in the pompous prince, and she made it very clear. Then, she met Gwaine, and whatever foolish hope Albert had was lost completely. When rumors entered his father's kingdom that Uther was hosting a wedding tournament in honor of his Princess and that stupid knight, he knew that it was the perfect opportunity to get rid of Gwaine, and Genevieve if Gwaine had ruined her. He even entered the tournament, and almost won, until he was defeated by Genevieve during the final joust, much to his shock and annoyance.

When he saw her enter his camp and immediately rush to the aid of that commoner, he lost it. He grabbed his sword and went to strike them both down. He was so blinded by his rage and fury that he didn't see Prince Arthur rush from his shared hiding space to defend his sister and her beloved.

Alfred's sword met the hard resistance of Arthur's. The two men exchanged angered looks with each other, before striking at each other. Arthur was successful in distracting the other prince from Genevieve and Gwaine.

Merlin and Isabel hurried over to where Genevieve was struggling to pick up Gwaine. She looked up and noticed them making their way over. _Stop,_ she told them, halting their progress. She returned to Gwaine. She placed a hand over his heart and sent a small jolt of magic through him. He immediately woke up, confused as to where he was. His eyes chose to focus on the one thing that was familiar to him, Genevieve.

"Love, what are you doing here?" He questioned. "You're supposed to be getting ready for our wedding." She gave out a small laugh before kissing him soundly. Nothing else in that moment mattered to either of them.

It was the clashing of steel on steel drawing closer to them that finally drew them away from each other. They saw that Arthur was pushing Albert back, fully controlling the fight. Until he tripped. In that one misstep, Alfred was able to take control of the fight. Genevieve watched as Albert pushed back at her brother, becoming more and more aggressive with each strike. Then, she saw a branch floating behind Albert, she looked over to Merlin and Isabel and saw that Isabel's eyes were glowing gold as she struck the foreign prince hard in his head. He crumpled down, sword falling from his hands into the forest floor.

Arthur looked over to Genevieve, thanks written on his lips, when he saw his sister shaking her head. HIs expression immediately clouded with confusion. She nodded over to where Merlin and Isabel were still standing before turning her attention back on Gwaine.

Arthur moved to where the magical siblings were standing. Unthinkingly, he moved closer to Merlin, a hand stretched out towards his manservant. "Thanks for the assist, Mer-" A small, but rough, sound caught his attention, abruptly ending his sentence. He turned toward the source of the sound and wasn't surprised to find that it was Isabel who interrupted him.

"It wasn't Merlin," she said quietly.

"What?" Arthur asked as he unconsciously tilted his head, putting his ear closer to her.

"I said, it wasn't Merlin. I did it." Arthur was staring at her, making her begin to feel uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to begin babbling, but before she could even get a word out, Arthur surprised everyone by wrapping her in a hug.

"Thank you," he whispered in her ear so only she could hear. She gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. She tentatively wrapped her arms around his broad, strong torso, enjoying the hug even though she knew nothing could happen between them.

Arthur was the first to let go, regretfully, but he did. He looked over to where Genevieve and Gwaine still were, both standing at this point. He walked over to them, giving Gwaine a manly hug, glad that he hadn't been killed. Genevieve moved to her brother and wrapped him in a hug, thanking him for helping her rescue Gwaine. She then moved over to Merlin and Isabel and gave them each a hug in turn, thanking them for all their help in rescuing Gwaine.

The group returned to the castle with the foreign Prince in tow, bound with the same ropes that he had used to bind Gwaine to the tree. Gwaine and Arthur were unceremoniously dragging the Prince through the lower town and to the castle.

Uther greeted the triumphant group as they approached the castle entrance. He was happy to see that they all returned unharmed, and that they brought the offending Prince back with them. "Guards, take the prisoner to the dungeon," he ordered the knights that were standing around the courtyard. Two knights came and took the burden from the Crown Prince and Gwaine.

Morgana came rushing out of the castle with Gwen close behind her. When Morgana saw Genevieve, she immediately grabbed the Princess and shoved her back into the castle, determined to make the Princess "presentable," once again, and hopefully in time for the wedding.

"Morgana," Uther loudly said to his Ward. "There's no time for that. The wedding has to happen now."

Everyone looked at the king in shock. He had never been a supporter of this wedding, and now he was the one saying the wedding had to occur now. It was finally Arthur who broke the shocked silence. "You heard the king, it's time for a wedding. Everyone is waiting for you two, so let's go!"

The group made their way to the throne room, where nobles from every kingdom were gathered, all excited to see the vibrant princess marry the man who made her smile unlike she ever had before.

The King and his Ward entered into the Throne Room first, followed, discreetly, by Merlin, Isabel and Gwen. Gwaine entered next and walked confidently to the end of the aisle, where the priest was patiently waiting. When he finally reached the end of the walkway, the big double doors opened, revealing Arthur, who was escorting his radiant sister. Even though she had been walking through the forest, no one could tell. All they could see was the smile that stretched as far as the eye could see. But, all she could see was the love of her life. She focused on his eyes, which showed his joy about this day.

The two Pendragons reached the end of the aisle, where Arthur gladly gave his sister to Gwaine. They stood before the priest, hands clasped, as they exchanged vows that would bind them together for the rest of their lives, which they gladly gave. They promised to love each other every day, to cherish the time they had together, to support each other, and most importantly (in Uther's eyes), they promised to protect the kingdom. When they sealed these vows with a kiss, the room erupted into cheers, all happy to see this couple joined in marriage. Many saw a stronger kingdom in the future. Morgana knew that with these two to support Arthur, Camelot was safe from any danger that may come its way.


	8. Chapter 7

**So sorry that I have been absent. Life got crazy with school and other things. Here's the next chapter, and hopefully I should be able to keep up with a schedule.**

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Eight weeks had passed since Genevieve and Gwaine's wedding, and they were still deep in wedding bliss. Uther had even begun to accept Gwaine, and even had a small coronation ceremony, making him an official Prince of Camelot. Genevieve may have threatened Uther some, but unbeknownst to her, Uther had already been considering it.

Uther was a lover of tournaments. He had an annual tournament that he had once participated in, but now left the competing to Arthur, who was the current champion of this particular tournament and Uther was excited to see him maintain that title. He enjoyed watching his son practice and would have gladly spent the days leading up to the tournament watching his son practice and offer his advice on what Arthur could do better.

Genevieve, Merlin, and Isabel, however, were all out at the tournament field, watching as the Knights of Camelot practiced for the tournament. Well, Genevieve and Isabel were watching. Merlin was forced to run after Arthur, doing whatever the Prince told him to.

Gwaine unhorsed the knight he was practicing against with ease and heard the satisfying thud as his body hit the dirt of the tilt. He immediately turned his horse around to make sure that he was alright. He was pleased to see that the other man was already getting back to his feet and didn't seem to have any obvious serious injuries. He adjusted his horse's path and went over to the fence, where his lovely bride was waiting. He gave a smile to Isabel, who returned it before focusing on the next set of jousters, Arthur and Sir Leon.

Both riders, and Genevieve, had grown up together, running around the castle and enjoying the fleeting moments of childhood. They were used to each other, knew each other's fighting style. They often practiced with each other.

Genevieve was watching her brother, worried that something bad was about to happen. She watched as they squared off with together. They began their charges, both very intense, then, a reflection of light hit Arthur in his eyes, distracting him from the charge. Leon, rather than press his advantage, pulled out of the advance, not wanting to harm the Crown Prince.

Arthur saw him pull back and became infuriated. While they may be practicing for a tournament, these were still skills that would be used in battle. If anyone practiced not taking the advantages given to them, then they would get in the habit of doing the same in battle. Arthur quickly turned his horse to face his fellow knight. "Why did you pull out? I was wide open. You could have unhorsed me!" His shouting attracted the attention of everyone in the area who wasn't already focused on the practice.

"I was fearful I might injure you, Sire," Leon responded. While it was true that he was scared of harming Arthur, he was more scared of having to face Uther if he harmed the Crown Prince.

"You had the advantage. You can't afford to hesitate!"

"I wouldn't have done so if I were facing a different opponent. You are the future King, My Lord."

This statement unsettled Arthur. "You jousted against me in the tournament last year. Are you saying you let me win?" He was angry. He had always seen himself as the best warrior in the kingdom, but if Leon was letting him won, was he really as good as he thought?

"No, My Lord," Leon protested, looking around for someone to help him. He made eye contact with the Princess, who realized that he needed help, so she began to make her way over to her very angry brother.

"It doesn't matter who I am! I do not expect any special treatment from you, from any of you! Is that understood?" He looked at each of the knights in turn as they nodded their understanding, with the exception of Gwaine. Arthur glared at his brother-in-law who simply shrugged his shoulders.

Genevieve spoke up at this point. "I think that's enough practice for today. Go, and prepare for the tournament tomorrow." Each knight gave a grateful smile to the Princess, and quickly made their escape from the glaring Prince.

Arthur glared at his sister for dismissing the knights when all he wanted to do was take his anger out on them. She returned his glare, unfazed by his glare, having lived with their father glaring at her at every opportunity. "If you're going to yell at me, then do it in your room," she informed him before gracefully turning around and walking to the castle, Isabel and Gwaine following her, laughing at Arthur's reaction. Merlin glanced at Arthur before motioning, questionably, to the retreating figures of their sisters and Genevieve.

Everyone was gathered in Arthur's chambers, including Morgana and Gwen, who had been invited by Genevieve. Arthur was pacing the room, still angry about what Leon had revealed, his annoyance at Genevieve dismissing the knights forgotten. "How am I going to prove myself if my opponents aren't trying their hardest?" He asked the others in the room, not really wanting an answer.

Merlin, however, wanted to reassure the Prince purely for selfish reasons. "I'm sure it's not happening all of the time," he said. Genevieve winced from her perch on her brother's bed at Merlin's word choice.

"So, it's happening some of the time?" Arthur demanded of his magical servant.

"No, I'm certain it isn't," Merlin responded, slightly panicked by Arthur's anger.

"Now you're doing it! You're telling me exactly what you think I want to hear!"

"He's telling you what you want to hear because you won't listen to anything else, Arthur," Genevieve spoke out. "When has Merlin ever truly said what you wanted to hear?" She questioned. Arthur just ignored her.

"That just proves it. All my life I've been treated as if I'm special. I just want to be treated just like everyone else!" He complained. Everyone in the room exchanged glances, asking nonverbally who would address this.

"Of course you are treated as if you are special. You were born a prince! Your mother died giving birth to you and Genevieve! Your father values your life above everyone else's, including your sister! Everyone is scared of hurting you because of what your father would do to them!" Everyone in the room was shocked as Isabel, sweet, quiet Isabel, was yelling at Arthur. "You've never been treated normally because you aren't normal! You wouldn't last one day living life as a peasant!" She ended her rant on that note before quickly retreating from the room, cheeks flaming from yelling at Arthur.

"She's right, Arthur," Morgana said when the door closed. "You wouldn't last one day if you had to live as a peasant."

"That is simply untrue. Being a peasant can't be too hard."

Genevieve looked up from whispering in Gwaine's ear when she heard her brother's statement. "Would you like to wager on that, brother?" Gwaine, at this time, took his leave of the group, seeking Isabel to make sure she was okay. Arthur didn't notice Gwaine leaving, instead choosing to focus on Genevieve. He nodded, agreeing to the wager, confident that he could win. "As an added bonus, this will also answer your previous concern about your fighting abilities. Gwen," she addressed her friend, "would it be alright if Arthur stayed with you for the duration of the tournament?" Gwen nodded, waiting to see what else her friend was going to say. "Arthur, you'll stay with Gwen during the tournament, helping her and living the life as a peasant would. You'll fight in the tournament under a different name. Merlin will find someone to play the public face of your knight, thus ensuring that no one, outside of this room, will know that it's you fighting." The grins around the room confirmed that this was a good plan, which Arthur quickly agreed to, still confident that he would win the wager.

"And when I win the wager, sister?"

"I'll buy you a new sword, with my magic to protect you in battle. But, if I win, you have to give Merlin a week off and do all of your own chores," she told him. They shook on the wager, both confident that they would win.

"Wait. What am I going to tell father?"

"Oh, you'll think of something, Arthur. You always do." Genevieve left her brother's room, feeling sick to her stomach. She swallowed, trying to ignore her stomach, but smelled something within the corridor that sent her running for the nearest chamber pot, where she emptied her stomach. Thankfully, the chamber pot was freshly washed. However, it was now filled with the contents of Genevieve's stomach. She stood up, telling herself she just had to make it through the next few days and all would be well.

She made it to her chambers without another accident and began to get ready for dinner with her father, thankful that Arthur and Gwaine would be there as well.

Genevieve didn't see Gwaine again until dinner that evening, which was solely a family affair. Only the Pendragons and Gwaine were eating at this time. Uther, for some reason, began insisting on having a dinner with his children at least once a month. This just happened to be the second such dinner.

Genevieve was seated to the right of her father with Gwaine providing support to her right. Arthur was seated across from her, quickly eating. Uther was lost in thought, thinking of the upcoming tournament and how excited he was that Arthur would be defending his title.

When everyone was almost done, Arthur cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone. "We've received reports that a beast has been sighted roaming the forest near the northern borders."

Uther looked up from his meal to his favored child. "What's the nature of this beast?"

Arthur gave a significant look to his sister, silently begging that she not give away his lie. "It is said to have the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the..." here he hesitated, having not fully thought through this lie.

"The face of a bear, Father," Genevieve supplied for her brother, choosing to take pity on him for once, but promising to tease him for it later.

"Right, thank you, Sister." He turned back to their father, drawing the attention back to him. "I believe it to be conjured by sorcery." Merlin and Isabel were now struggling not to laugh at the Prince. Gwaine gave a small smile, also struggling not to laugh but still showing his amusement.

As predicted, Uther immediately began focusing on what Arthur had said. "Then we must destroy it."

"I'll leave for the northern borders in the morning," Arthur informed the King.

"But you'll miss the tournament," Uther's enthusiasm was immediately lost. He wanted Arthur to continue carrying on the title, but Arthur couldn't do that if he was away, hunting a magical creature.

"As much as I want to compete, my duty to Camelot comes first." Arthur had apparently gotten much better at lying in the few minutes it had been since he first tried.

"Your are right, of course." Uther sat in silence for a minute, pondering how the Pendragon name could still win the title of tournament champion. "Genevieve, you are competing tomorrow, correct?" Those seated at the table stared at the king, wondering what could possibly have gone through the King's mind for him to suggest Genevieve competing in the tournament.

"Actually, Father, I won't be competing in any tournaments for some time," she hesitantly stated. She wished she could of had some alone time with Gwaine at some point this afternoon, but since that didn't happen, and her father was expecting her to compete.

"Why ever not?" He demanded, growing angry at her for refusing to compete when he was actually asking her to.

"Well... It's because..." She looked over to Gwaine, taking her eyes off her father and brother. "I'm pregnant."

The response was mutual around the room. Everyone was ecstatic, even Uther. The promise of a new baby was what was needed to begin resolving relations between Genevieve and Uther. There was hope that it would succeed, but Genevieve wasn't holding her breath. Instead, she chose to focus on the love radiating from her husband's eyes.

Arthur was appreciative of his sister's announcement for multiple reasons. If anyone deserved happiness, it was her and Gwaine, but it also provided the perfect distraction that would allow him to "miss" the tournament. He shared in their joy about a new child, and already began to promise that if the child possessed magical abilities like his sister did, then he would do anything to protect the child.

Dinner didn't last much longer after the announcement, and everyone quickly made their way to their respective chambers for the night, Gwaine and Genevieve having their own, private celebration.

Morning came quickly for the residents of Camelot. Merlin and Isabel rose before the sun did, having chores that must be completed, and being told by their uncle that the floors to his chambers must be cleaned thoroughly. Genevieve had given Isabel a few days off because of the tournament. Merlin, however, was not expecting to have any time off, thanks to Arthur insisting that he would need help getting ready for the tournament. Gaius, believing as the rest of the population did that Arthur was missing the tournament, was excited to have his niece and nephew at his disposal for the next few days, more specifically Merlin, as Isabel always went out of her way to help Gaius since she did not have as much to do as Merlin did, despite serving two people. Granted, Gwaine and Genevieve often went out of their ways to make her life easier as a servant.

Genevieve watched her brother leave Camelot with his selected knights to go "fight" the "magical beast terrorizing the towns surrounding Camelot," knowing that she would be seeing him later at Gwen's house. And speaking of Gwen, she had yet to break the news the Morgana and Gwen and knew she should do it before Uther had a chance to announce it to the entire kingdom, otherwise she would have to deal with an angry Morgana.

She quickly made her way through the castle, in search of the women she had grown to call her sisters. She unsurprisingly found them in Morgana's room, gossiping about the upcoming tournament and Arthur's plan. She happened to enter the room just as they burst into a fit of laughter.. "Well, ladies, what is the joke?" She asked of her close friends. Instead of answering, the girls just continued laughing, eventually causing Genevieve to break down in giggles.

When they had finally all finished giggling, after many rounds of one of them finally stopping giggling only to start again due to the others, Morgana turned to her friend. "So, Genevieve, to what do we owe the pleasure? I was certain that you would be preparing for the tournament, to best Arthur when he tries to prove that he really is the best." Morgana was seated in front of her mirror, attending to her hair with the help of Gwen. Genevieve was visible to both of them from the mirror, as she was seated at Morgana's table, as graceful as a princess could be.

"Well, as I told Father last night at dinner, I won't be competing in any tournaments for a while." Both women rapidly turned their heads to properly face their friend, concern written all over their faces. Before they could ask why, Genevieve told them her good news. The two women broke out into excited screams, celebrating their friend's joyous news. The pounding at the door, however, quickly ended their screaming. Before Gwen could even move to the door, it came crashing in as a whole group of Camelot knights came rushing in, swords drawn, and shields held at the ready, with Sir Leon leading the charge. "Leon!" Genevieve exclaimed loudly.

"We heard screaming, Princess."

"Leon, they were screams of joy, not terror," she gave him a small smile, signaling that she was expecting him to leave, and leave quickly. He saw the look, and rushed out the small contingent from Morgana's room, quickly followed by Gwen, who was going to wait for Arthur at her small house. Morgana continued to look at Genevieve in awe, excited for her and Gwaine, but worried at the same time that the child would be born with magic like Genevieve was, which would cause Uther to do anything to get rid of the child.

Genevieve could see the worry on Morgana's face, and instead of rushing to fill her with false hope, left the room, worrying settling into the pit of her stomach, and she began looking for Gwaine, hoping for the comfort that he would provide.

She found her husband predictably practicing in the tilt, trying to get that last bit of practice. Uther had cornered him earlier that day, saying that he was the only person available to uphold the Pendragon family honor in this tournament, and if he failed, Uther would make his life a living hell. Gwaine knew if he tried to do this, Genevieve would not hesitate to punish her father in a similar way, but he still wanted to do his best in this tournament. He did not notice that Genevieve had walked up and was watching him, instead focusing on familiarizing his horse with the terrain of the tilt.

Genevieve continued watching her love as he ran the tilt over and over again, until the muffled sounds of running footsteps alerted her that someone was coming up behind her. She sent a small jolt of magic to Gwaine to get his attention before turning around to confront to quickly approaching person. She was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Sir Leon, again. She opened her mouth to greet him before she was interrupted with him gruffly informing her that the king requested her presence. She shot a look over to Gwaine and saw that he was already handing his horse off to a stable boy and making his way over to her. When he was next to her, they began to follow Sir Leon as he lead them to the council chamber, where it seemed like Uther had called for the entire council. A strange man was standing in the center of the room, and it appeared as if everyone were waiting for the princess. She quickly made her way to her awaiting throne, seated at the right hand side of her father. Gwaine joined the other Knights of Camelot.

"May I present my daughter, Genevieve, Princess of Camelot. Genevieve, this is Kelda, from Odin's kingdom. He says that he brings important news regarding Odin."

"I was there in person. Odin placed a price on Prince Arthur's head," Kelda stressed.

"Surely he wouldn't dare," Uther all but yelled. Even the possibility of a threat to Arthur caused him to grow angry and tense.

"He's blinded by grief, My Lord. The assassin Myror has accepted the bounty."

"I've heard of this Myror," Uther mused. Genevieve leaned forward in her throne. She recalled hearing this name during her travels, specifically when an royal died due to assassination. If this man was going after her brother, there was trouble. Hopefully, this assassin would be fooled enough to avoid Camelot, and follow "Arthur" to the northern borders.

"I believe he's heading for Camelot as we speak. I bring you this information at great risk to myself." Uther threw a bag of coins at Kelda's feet. Kelda quickly exited from the room, not wanting to risk any more exposure in Camelot.

"Double the guards. I want this assassin intercepted before he reaches Camelot." Uther turned to face Genevieve. "I also want you under round the clock guard. Just because only Arthur's name was brought up doesn't mean that you aren't a target as well."

Genevieve could feel herself growing paler. The room was growing dimmer and her head felt very light. She could hear Uther speaking to Gwaine about something but couldn't make out what was being said. She heard someone scream, but couldn't make out who was screaming, or why they would be screaming, as the room was finally swallowed by blackness.

It was Morgana who screamed from her smaller throne to the left of Uther. She had noticed that Genevieve had grown strangely quiet and had looked over to make sure she was okay and witnessed her collapsing in a heap to the floor, falling from the throne. Gwaine was already rushing over to his collapsing wife as Morgana began her scream. The combination of Gwaine rushing to the dais and Morgana's scream caught the attention of all in the room. Uther immediately ordered all but Gaius and his niece to leave the room. All left, with the exception of Gwaine and Morgana, who were tending to the collapsed princess.

"Gaius, what's wrong with her?" Uther asked worriedly, thinking back to his wife and her deadly pregnancy.

"I'm not sure, Sire. I need to examine her. Gwaine, take her to your chambers. It will be easier to examine her there." Gwaine nodded as he gently scooped up his wife and carried her to their chambers. everyone following close behind.

Gaius began whispering to his niece, telling her what herbs to grab from the physicians chambers as quickly as possible. Isabel quickly broke off from the rest of the group to go and gather what her uncle had asked for.

Everyone quickly gathered in the newlyweds chambers, as Gaius began his examination of the still unconscious princess. Everyone was somber, impatiently waiting for Gaius's report. Finally, he stood up, and looked over at the gathered nobility. "She's fine. She just got a little excited, which put a strain on her body."

"And the baby?" Gwaine inquired, leaning forward almost imperceptibly.

"The baby is also fine, but I will want to check again in a few hours, just to make sure. Someone will need to stay here with her. If she doesn't wake up soon, I will need to know."

"I'll stay with her," Morgana volunteered before anyone else could. Gaius nodded to the king's ward and ushered the men out of the room. Isabel remained, wishing to be near by if something were to happen, so she could use her magic if necessary.

The two women sat in silence as they watched over the sleeping princess. She awoke shortly thereafter and seemed very confused on why she was in her bed. Morgana gently dismissed Isabel, telling her that she could handle this now.

Isabel made her way through the castle, lost in thought. There was an assassin headed this way to kill Arthur, and if he came to Camelot, he would most assuredly find Arthur, if nothing else then because of the tournament that was to start in the morning. She wandered throughout the day, eventually leaving the castle and walking through the town. She eventually found herself in front of Gwen's door, with the sun quickly setting. She gently knocked on the door and was greeted by the troubled face of Arthur. As she sat there, admiring him, he quickly began to smile, lost in his own thoughts about the young woman standing in front of him.

"Arthur? Who is it?" Gwen asked from just inside the small house. Arthur was jostled out of his thoughts and ushered the young servant into the house. "Izzie! What a pleasant surprise! What brings you here?" Gwen asked, quickly motioning to a stool for Isabel to sit on.

Isabel gladly sat, her feet tired from the constant walking that she had done today, far more than her usual amount. Arthur was still staring at her, while trying to make it seem like he wasn't staring. In this regard, he was failing spectacularly. Gwen was more successful in hiding her giggles at the face of the Prince as he studied the servant sitting near him. "There is an assassin looking for Arthur."

Silence reigned in the small hut. Arthur stared incredulously at the small maid servant that brought this tremendous news like she was talking about the weather. "There's an assassin coming for Arthur?" Gwen asked for clarification purposes. Isabel just nodded. There was nothing else she could say about the matter. It was what it was.

"And what of Genevieve? Is she in danger?" Arthur asked. He was always more concerned with his sister than himself, in part due to the childhood horrors that his sister suffered and his lack of being able to protect her.

"The King has guards around her constantly until the assassin can be found. He doesn't want to take any chances with the baby. Gaius has also placed her on bed rest for the day. She's fine, he was just concerned," she assured the near panicking royal, and Gwen, who was also concerned but not to the point of panicking.

"Who's with her right now, Isabel?" Arthur demanded, rising to his feet to approach the young woman.

"Gwaine and Morgana, Sire." Arthur took a step back. He thought he had finally been able to convince the girl to call him by his name, but here she was, calling him Sire again. Things must be bad for her to do so, he thought to himself. "I should be getting back. It's past sunset, and Gaius probably needs my help," she offered as she quickly made her exit. Before Arthur could fully process what she had said and stop her, she was gone.

Arthur and Gwen exchanged looks with each other. "Maybe you shouldn't compete this year, Sire," Gwen hesitantly said. "I'm sure Genevieve would let you out of the bet considering the circumstances."

"This isn't just for her, Gwen. This is also for me. I will continue in the tournament. Besides, we wouldn't want all of our hard work to go to waste with 'Sir William' now would we?" With that, Arthur made his way to the only bed in the hut, not even thinking about how he hadn't seen another bed and assuming that it was his for the taking. He was supremely uncomfortable on the hard bed and didn't sleep well that night at all. Poor Gwen was resigned to the floor, where she was certainly more uncomfortable than the sleeping Prince.

All was quiet as everyone slept. Guards patrolled the castle, seemingly on high alert for a potential assassin, but not anticipating that the assassin would make his way here. After all, Arthur wasn't in Camelot, and if the assassin were to go after the princess, they would have to deal with her angry, and aggressive fighter, husband who would kill anyone who even thought of harming the princess. One of the guards was patrolling along the corridor that night. All was peaceful. He was feeling a bit tired and was hoping that his relief was coming soon so he could go sleep, so as to better enjoy the tournament the following day. He was thus surprised when he saw someone wandering in this corridor. "Halt!" He called out. "Show yourself." The shadow of a person stopped and turned to face the guard. "What business do you have in the King's palace?" He questioned forcefully.

"I came to seek an audience with, er..." He hesitated, should he ask for the Prince, or the Princess? Which would be less suspicious... "with Prince Arthur."

"What's your name?" The guard was suspicious, as he should be. It was still his first week of guard duty, but he was pretty certain that if someone was seeking an audience with someone in the royal family, they would come during the day. Before he could even react, the person stabbed the guard, covering his mouth to disguise any noise that the guard would make as he died.

"My name is Myror," he said subconsciously. He continued stalking through the castle, in search of one specific guard, which he found quickly. He grabbed him quickly, covering his mouth to stop the noise of surprise that would alert any one else in the vicinity of his presence. When he finally released Fyren, Fyren was pissed.

"Why are you here?" He questioned.

"Your information was wrong. Prince Arthur is not among the party travelling to the northern borders."

"The Prince lest with them yesterday."

"Then they must have separated. Perhaps he has returned to Camelot," he mused.

"Not that I've heard. His return would've been announced at court."

"It would seem the Prince does not want to be found. Hmmm."

Unbeknownst to the two speaking, Isabel was in the corridor, listening to all that had been said. As quickly and quietly as she could, she made her way to Genevieve and Gwaine's chamber. Thankfully, neither of the men noticed her leaving. She burst into the room, waking Gwaine, who had his sword nearby and was going to grab it when Isabel used her magic to move it out of the way. "The assassin's here!" She yelled in a hushed whisper so as not to wake the sleeping princess. She relayed everything that she heard to Gwaine, who sat, listening in deep thought.

"The only thing we can do is watch Arthur during the tournament and protect him as best as we can. But, I don't think Genevieve and I will be there tomorrow. Is, you have to protect him using any means possible." She nodded her head, promising she would rather die than let Arthur die.

Isabel made her way back to her shared room with Merlin, deep in thought about what all she had seen and heard that day.


	9. Chapter 8

It was tournament day. Camelot was ecstatic. The knights were all finishing their preparations within their tents. Arthur was squirrelled away in his tent with "William" being dressed by Merlin. Arthur seemed anxious, pacing back and forth in the tent. "Now remember the plan. I'm competing in the tournament, but no one will know that it's me. All you have to do is acknowledge the crowd at the end of the match. Act like you belong there and people will believe that you do." He was busy coaching William at the last minute. He was quite obviously distracted with the thought that there was an assassin that would even think to threaten his sister. He and Merlin sent William out of the tent to go before Uther and the kingdom as Uther introduced the tournament. It was due to the planning of Genevieve that the tent was close enough to the tilt so Merlin and Arthur could see what was happening.

No one noticed that the Princess and her husband were not in attendance, or if they did, they assumed that they were busy with married activities. Uther and Morgana were stationed in the covered dais that had plenty of chairs for the royal family, but only half were in use.

"Knights of the realm," Uther greeted as William swayed on his horse, having immense difficulty staying upon the mount. "Welcome to Camelot. You've trained for this day for many years." Uther was looking over the group of knights lined up in front of him. His eyes narrowed a bit at the late newcomer who seemed to be struggling to stay upon his horse.

"Well, he hasn't fallen off his horse," Merlin whispered to Arthur as they watched the proceedings. Uther continued droning on in the background, talking about how the tournament was a test of bravery and strength, amongst other things.

"I suppose that's something," Arthur whispered back. He allowed himself a quick glance to the platform and noticed that his sister wasn't there, and for that matter, neither was Gwaine. He grew concerned, but quickly shook off such thoughts, not allowing himself to become distracted before a tournament that could claim lives.

"...and your skill to the test. Today, you will fight for glory and for honour. For this is the ultimate test of courage. And it will be the measure of you as men. For only the most skillful, the most fearless among you will emerge as a worthy champion." All the knights presented their arms before leaving the tilt, preparing for the first rounds of the tournament.

"They're ready for you, Sire," William informed Arthur as they exchanged responsibilities.

Arthur had won all of his matches that day, much to the pleasure of those watching who knew his secret. Gwen and Morgana were cheering for him, both with different levels of enthusiasm as it wouldn't be proper for the ward of the King to cheer unbecomingly. Isabel was watching worriedly from the sidelines, doing her best to watch out for the assassin. Merlin was sitting in the tent with William, gladly listening to the crowd cheering for "William" as he was successful in each fight.

Arthur entered the tent energetically, and tossed the helmet to William. "You must go and acknowledge the crowd."

"How do you do that?" William questioned as he fumbled the helmet a little but managed not to drop it.

"You wave, they cheer. It's not that difficult," Arthur sneered at the farmer. William left the tent in contemplation as he determined the best way to go about his task. Arthur watched him leave before turning to Merlin. "I do all the work, someone else gets all the praise," he muttered to the servant.

"Know the feeling," Merlin muttered under his breath, hoping that Arthur wouldn't hear him. Arthur may know of his magic, but Merlin still hadn't had the courage to inform Arthur just how much he had used his magic to save Arthur.

"When I win this tournament, I'll reveal my true identity, get the credit I deserve," he assured Merlin confidently. It would also win him the bet with Genevieve, though she wouldn't be here to see it.

"Of course you will," Merlin reassured the Prince.

"Well, don't just stand there. Help me off with my armour. And remember to polish it before tomorrow. The horse needs grooming. And don't forget to repair the broken lances." Merlin knew that it would be a long night for him, with all the chores that Arthur was placing on him, along with the chores that Gaius was making him do.

Isabel entered into Gwaine and Genevieve's chamber that night, carrying a platter of food that the kitchen had specifically prepared for the princess, following both Gaius and Uther's orders on how the princess was to eat. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Gwaine was fully asleep on the bed, with Genevieve sitting up, reading a book while subconsciously running a hand through his soft hair. She cleared her throat to alert Genevieve that she was here.

Genevieve looked up from her book and smiled at the young woman balancing a tray. "Come in, Isabel, and set that tray down! It looks like you're about to topple over." Isabel quickly sat the tray down in the table, and tried to scurry out of the room. "Isabel, you should really sit down. You look as if you are about to pass out."

The Princess struggled to get out of bed without waking her sleeping husband. She almost managed it, but the last shift forward alerted him to her intentions.

"Gen, what are you doing?" He asked as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. He blinked a few times and noticed that Isabel had arrived at some point. "Iz, what are you doing here?"

Isabel cocked her head slightly at the nickname, but decided to brush it off, not too concerned with this behavior. "I brought dinner, since you both missed dinner tonight," she responded finally while gesturing to the food that she had set on the table.

Gwaine looked over at the bounty that had been provided and was surprised to discover just how hungry he was. "Gen, get back in bed before I send for Gaius," he demanded of his love. She pouted in response and began to move to the table, prepared to show her husband that she was ready to sit and eat, and not remain in bed. Gwaine merely shook his head before bounding over the bed and gently grabbing her arm. "Gen, please," he asked in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper. Gen looked at her husband, and noticed the intense look in his eye that he was giving her. She nodded and moved back to the bed, knowing that this was one argument that she didn't want to have, or win.

Once she was situated back in bed comfortably, she motioned over to Isabel. "How did the tournament go today?" She inquired of the younger girl.

"Well, Arthur won all his matches today, and nothing suspicious happened."

"What do you mean by that?"

Isabel shot a look over to Gwaine, who had paused in mid bite. He put down the spoon and looked at his wife. "Gen, the assassin is here in Camelot, looking for Arthur."

Immediately, Genevieve bounded off the bed, almost knocking Isabel over. "Why didn't you tell me about this before now? Were you ever going to tell me?" She demanded of her husband.

"Gen, I was going to tell you, but not until I knew that everything was going to be okay. You need to calm down, love," Gwaine attempted to calm his very angry wife, knowing that this would not be good for her health, and the health of the baby.

Genevieve opened her mouth to respond, but a look of pain crossed her face instead. She moved to the bed, ignoring all of the panicked questions being directed towards her, simply stating that she needed to sit down, everything was fine. When she was again situated in her bed, she looked to the two individuals staring at her. "Gwaine, Isabel, I want you both at the tournament tomorrow. I want you to look out for Arthur by any means necessary. Isabel, if something happens, I want you to contact me immediately."

Genevieve looked around the room, trying to find a piece of parchment to scrawl a missive to her brother. Gwaine, assuming correctly what she was looking for, grabbed a quill and parchment. He handed it to her quickly before sitting back at the table.

Genevieve quickly wrote out her note before giving it to Isabel with instructions to deliver to Arthur as quickly as possible. Isabel left the room, looking back as she closed the door to see Gwaine bringing food to Genevieve.

Merlin attempted to sneak past Gaius to his shared room with his sister, when Gaius turned and began to stare at him, very angry like.

"Is this about the leech tank?" Merlin asked, knowing that it was but hoping that Gaius had somehow forgotten that he asked Merlin to take care of that particularly nasty chore.

"How very perceptive of you, Merlin," Gaius crossly told his nephew.

"I'll clean it out tomorrow," Merlin promised as he finally made his way to the safety of his room.

"And will that be before or after you've scrubbed the floors and done the laundry? Isabel is caught up on her chores!" Gaius called out after his nephew.

Merlin sighed as he entered the room, ready to tell Isabel how the tournament was going from his end, meaning how much he had gotten to know William. He was surprised to see that Isabel wasn't there, and was a little put out that his sister wasn't there to talk with him.

Arthur and Gwen had just finished eating, and were discussing how the tournament was going from both perspectives when they heard a knock at the door. Gwen walked to the door this time and was happy to find Isabel standing there. Gwen thought that Isabel had a magical ability to calm Arthur down, which was definitely need at this point as an argument between the two was imminent.

Isabel quietly made her way into the room, happy to see that she hadn't woken the two up. "I brought a missive from Genevieve," she quietly said, her eyes focused on the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with Arthur. She saw Arthur's hand enter her field of vision and she quickly put the parchment in his not quite completely open hand. She tried to run away, but felt a strong hand grab her.

"Isabel, what's wrong?" Arthur asked her gently, gentler than he had ever been before.

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. She opened her mouth to answer, but shook her head instead. "Be careful tomorrow," she told him before making her escape back to the castle.

She rushed quietly through her uncle's chambers and up the stairs to the shared room, where she found Merlin passed out on his bed. She quickly readied herself for bed and laid down, tears now freely streaming down her face as the stress of what was going on finally overwhelmed her.

The next morning dawned. The castle woke up and began buzzing with activity as everyone went about their daily chores.

When Gwaine woke up, Genevieve was still soundly asleep. He gently kissed her and then quietly left the room, entering into the portion of their chambers that was dedicated to their weaponry and armor. He quickly got dressed as according to a Knight of Camelot and made his way to the tournament arena, knowing that he was about to be spending a lot of time with Uther.

By the time he arrived, Morgana was already there, ready for the conclusion of the tournament. She sat upon the wooden throne that had been placed to the left of Uther's. To the right were two thrones of similar sizes, one of which Gwaine sat on. When Uther arrived shortly thereafter, both stood up in reverence and greeting for the King of Camelot. He sat upon his more extravagant throne and greeted his ward. After conversing with her for a few minutes, he turned to his son-in-law. "How is Genevieve doing today?"

"She was still fast asleep when I left this morning, but that was a few hours ago. And since she is her own woman, there is no telling what she could be up to by this time," Gwaine told his father-in-law nonchalantly. Uther looked at him, resisting the urge to attack his son-in-law, who he saw as too smug, but resisted because he knew that his daughter would not hesitate to use her dreaded sorcery on him. The again, he wasn't sure that she hadn't used it on him already. He moved away from his son-in-law, muttering as he rubbed his head in serious contemplation, facing the crowded tournament arena. Gwaine shook his head before choosing to focus on the tournament.

Merlin arrived at the tournament just before it began, after having a slight argument with Gaius over Merlin's supposed laziness now that Arthur was away. Gaius had been shocked when his nephew raised his voice, even if it was out of frustration. He was even more shocked when his niece "solved" the issue of the leech tank with a wave of her hand, blatantly using her magic within the castle when it wasn't a lifesaving event. Gaius begin to lecture Isabel on the proper use of magic, which allowed Merlin to sneak out and make his way to Arthur's tent, where Arthur was waiting impatiently for Merlin to arrive. He scoffed when his manservant finally arrived.

"What? Did you sleep in today?"

"No, Sire. Gaius-"

"I need to get ready, and I've been forced to wait for you to make an appearance for ages. So glad that you could finally join me." Merlin noticed that Arthur seemed out of sorts and couldn't figure out why he possibly could be.

Merlin got to work dressing both Arthur and William as he thought about what could possibly be bothering the haughty prince. It was his only focus as the tournament went on. He barely caught, and relayed, when Sir Alinor was announced to be competing in the final, alongside Sir William/Arthur. Arthus when he heard the news, just simply nodded, focusing on the tournament and his sister's missive from last night.

Arthur trotted out onto the tilt, visor fully covering his face as he faced off against Sir Leon, fully prepared to prove that he was the better jouster. When he unhorsed Sir Leon, he felt vindicated in this plan of his sister's. He was certain to win now, both the tournament and the bet. All he had to do was face off against Sir Alinor in the morning and it would all work out in his favor. Now was the time to head back to Gwen's and get some proper rest.

Merlin took Arthur's horse to the trough to be watered when he was approached by a man he had never seen before. "He's a fine horse. I see your master has advanced to the final. He's extremely skilled with a lance."

"He's doing well. Just one more match to go."

"Tell me, what is he like to work for?"

"Between you and me?" Merlin looked around before leaning in and whispering to the man, "He can be a bit of a prat."

The strange man let out a laugh before asking, "So, you are no longer working for Prince Arthur?"

"Well, I…" Merlin floundered a bit. "Yes, yes. Not right now. Arthur's away. I'm just… helping out."

"Well, I, erm, I wish your master luck in the final," the man told Merlin before he walked away from Merlin and the horse.

"Thanks," Merlin called after the man.

When Arthur made it back to Gwen's house, he couldn't find her. "Gwen," he called out to the seemingly empty house.

"Just a minute," Gwen called back from where she was sweeping the pantry.

Arthur made his way to where he heard her voice coming from, picking at where his shirt had been damaged. "Do you have a needle and thread? My shirt needs mending," he looked up and saw a blanket and shoddy pillow where Gwen had obviously been sleeping.

"Umm…"

"Is this where you sleep?" Arthur questioned. "Where's your bed?"

"You're sleeping in it," Gwen replied simply.

"Well why didn't you say something?"

"How could I? Your Prince Arthur. Besides, you didn't give me the chance. You just assumed the bed was yours."

They heard a knock at the door and Gwen made her way past Arthur to the door. Arthur paused before following after her. "Well, how am I supposed to know if you don't tell me?"

"You shouldn't need to be told to think of someone other than yourself, you're not a child." She opened the door and found Isabel standing there. She ushered the handmaid in before closing the door.

Isabel looked at the two who where arguing and made her way to the cooking fire, where she began to prepare a dinner for the both of them, waiting until they were done arguing before sharing what she had come to tell them.

"Is there anything else you'd like to say to me? Please, I'd like to hear it. If there's something you want to say to me, don't let me stop you."

"You don't have any idea, do you?" Gwen questioned incredulously, before looking at Isabel for some sort of backup.

"About what?" Arthur asked Gwen, utterly confused to what she could be referring to. Isabel moved from the fire and made her way over to where Arthur was standing.

"About how rude and arrogant you can be! This is my home and you are my guest in it! I know you are used to more luxurious quarters, but that is not an excuse to be so rude! You claim titles don't matter to you, but you behave like a prince and expect me to wait on you like a servant! Saying it means nothing if your actions betray you! Would it kill you to say please and thank you once in a while?!" She looked at Arthur before adding a quick "My Lord," and a small, almost imperceptible bow, remembering her station.

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

"No, I think that's it." She was prepared for Arthur to berate her for what she unloaded on him.

"You're right. You have invited me into your home and I have behaved appallingly."

"I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

"Oh, really?"

"Well, perhaps a little," Gwen admitted, causing the three to laugh slightly.

"There's no excuse. I'll make it up to you. Tonight, I will make dinner for you, and for Isabel, who already began making dinner it seems." Isabel looked at Arthur in surprise. She hadn't expected him to realize that she had begun making dinner.

"You're going to cook us dinner?" Gwen incredulously asked.

"I most certainly am. Now, go for a walk or do whatever it is that girls do at this time of the evening…" Arthur stated uncertainly towards to end of his statement.

"A walk would be nice," Gwen stated while looking at Isabel.

"And your dinner will be ready when you return," Arthur told the two servants.

Gwen grabbed her shawl, throwing it on excitedly at the prospect at having an evening off. She turned to Isabel and saw the girl subtly shaking her head, indicating that she was going to be staying here. Gwen walked out. Arthur looked up when the door shut and saw that Isabel remained behind.

"What are you doing here? I have this covered," he informed his sister's servant.

"Arthur, you haven't cooked in these conditions before. Even if you had, you don't know how to properly prepare what Gwen has available."

Arthur began to get angry until he realized that she was right. Then he remembered the promise he made to Gwen about preparing dinner for both of the girls. A look must have crossed over his face because Isabel stepped forward.

"I'm going to help you, not do everything for you, but simply help you."

The two began to fix dinner, laughing as they furthered their efforts on dinner.

Merlin was walking through the lower town, looking for his sister when he came across Gwen walking in the opposite direction of her house. "Where's Arthur?"

"He's cooking dinner," Gwen informed him with a small smile, knowing that Isabel had stayed behind, most likely to save whatever dinner Arthur planned.

"Arthur's cooking?" Merlin asked completely shocked.

"Well, Arthur and your sister," she teased him. Merlin began to take off towards Gwen's house when he felt a hand wrap around his arm and was pulled back towards Gwen. "Oh, leave them be, Merlin. Your sister is more than capable of taking care of Arthur and his cooking.

Isabel had just flung some chopped carrots at Arthur and was surprised to find that some found a place in his hair. She let out a small laugh which was quickly cut off when Arthur retaliated with some chopped potatoes. Arthur laughed as a piece went into her mouth. She gave a smile and chewed the potato, enjoying the earthy taste. She added the rest of the carrots to the pot before looking at Arthur's shirt and noticing the hole in it. "Arthur, give me your shirt so I can mend it."

Arthur looked at the young lady incredulously. "What?" He questioned.

"You have a hole in your shirt, give it to me so I can repair it before it gets worse," she demanded of the Prince in a hard tone that surprised him. He quickly took his shirt off, attempting to not show off his physique. Isabel still caught sight of his chest and very defined abs and forced herself to look away, blush spreading like petals falling off a flower.

Arthur was seemingly oblivious as to why the young maid was hiding her eyes from him, and threw his shirt at her in a teasing manner, much like what they had been doing before, and laughed aloud at her startled jump when the shirt hit her back. She quickly grabbed the shirt and made her way over to where Gwen kept her sewing supplies. She focused on the shirt and chose to ignore whatever it was that Arthur was doing, trusting him not to mess with the stew that was being prepared. It was only when she heard a crash that she looked up and saw that Arthur had managed to run into the simple shelf that held all of Gwen's dishes. Rather than Gwen go without dishes, or Arthur slice his foot open on the broken pottery shards and forever complain about the fact (despite it being his fault in the long run) Isabel simply waved her hand in a show of unconscious magic, putting the dishes back together and back on the shelf. Arthur looked impressed by her display of magic, seeing the difference between hers and his sister's. While Genevieve's magic was tied more to her emotions, oftentimes mirroring whatever emotion she was feeling at the time, Isabel's seemed to be more along the lines of, well, helpful, for lack of a better idea from Arthur, who hadn't seen many different types of magic, having only really experienced his sister's.

Isabel felt her brother brushing against her mind and sent him a message, asking for a shirt to replace the one that Arthur had been wearing, simply stating that it smelled horribly, and she wasn't sure how much more of the stench she could stand before something unpredictable happened. She felt Merlin's mirth as he agreed to go grab one of Arthur's freshly laundered shirts from his bedchamber. Isabel sent her thanks, and continued focusing on mending Arthur's shirt and keeping an eye on the stew to make sure it didn't overcook.

Before the soup fully finished cooking, Merlin arrived with a new shirt, much to Arthur's surprise. He looked over at Isabel questioningly, his eyes shifting down to the newly mended shirt still grasped in her small hands. "I asked Merlin to go grab one of your shirts so you could wear something clean tonight for dinner," she responded before moving back to where the soup was quickly coming to a boil. She moved the soup off the heat of the fire and tasted the soup before deeming it ready to be served.

Arthur had quickly put his shirt on and moved to look out the window and saw Gwen strolling down the street towards his house. He looked at Merlin, who was joking with his sister about something, and the order to leave died on his lips. He wouldn't invite Merlin to join them for dinner, because it wasn't his house and he wasn't sure that Gwen would have enough dishes to serve the three of them, let alone Merlin as well. "Gwen's almost here," he did manage to say. Merlin looked at his sister and gave her a quick hug before moving to leave. Just as he opened the door, Gwen entered her home and saw him standing there.

"Oh, hello, Gwen," Merlin greeted while giving her his signature crooked half-smile that first endeared him to Gwen.

"Merlin, I would say it's a surprise to see you, but I expected you to pop up sooner than now. Won't you join us for dinner? I'm sure your sister and Arthur have cooked up something delicious if the smell is any indication."

"I would be honored, Gwen, thank you for your hospitality."

They all sat down to dinner, unaware of the peeping eyes that finally found their target. He prepped his crossbow and was ready to shoot Arthur when the night patrol stumbled on him, noticing the mini crossbow in his hand. "Halt! You! Stop right there!" He looked over his shoulder at the approaching guards before running off, using the dark to his advantage to give them the slip early on in the chase by hanging under the drawbridge.

"Did you see him?" One of the guards asked the others as they passed over the drawbridge. His compatriots all shook their heads, and an unspoken agreement was made.

Merlin and Isabel returned to their uncle's chambers with the leftover soup, given explicit instructions by Gwen to feed their uncle whatever remained. They had just finished magically warming a bowl and placing it on the table when Gaius opened the door to the chambers.

"Dinner's ready!" Merlin said in a tone that was both cheerful yet apologetic. "What I said this morning…"

"It is I who should be apologizing to you," Gaius told his nephew, having thought all day about what they young wizard had shouted at him. "I failed to appreciate just how heavy your burden must be."

"I shouldn't have lost my temper with you," Merlin offered, giving them both an out that would go forwards to mend their relationship. Isabel gave a small smile as she escaped to the small room she shared with Merlin and began to tidy up a bit, knowing that Merlin had been running himself ragged with all that had occurred this week. She heard her uncle and brother continuing their conversation as she quickly cleaned.

"It's no wonder you're upset. There's so much resting on your young shoulders. Now that Arthur's away, you must take time to enjoy yourself," Gaius assured his nephew.

"What about the leech tank?" Merlin asked hesitantly, as if the mere asking of the question would restart the argument that began with the dreaded thing.

"Don't even think about the leech tank," Gaius assured his nephew.

"Really?"

"All this talk of leeches will put us off our dinner. Where'd this soup come from?" Merlin opened his mouth to answer when a knock was heard coming from the door. "Come in!" Gaius called to whomever was knocking. Much to their surprise, it was Leon who came into the room.

"The King commands your presence immediately," he informed them as Isabel made her way down the stairs.

Gaius quickly had Isabel gather his basket of supplies and the trio followed Leon to where the King was waiting for them, down a corridor that was only used by guards. They were glad to see that Gwaine was there as well, but were dismayed when they saw the body on the floor, the obvious reason as to why Gaius would have been summoned.

Gaius immediately began examining the body, doing his best to determine the cause of death.

"Can you determine a cause of death?" Uther demanded imperiously.

"His neck's been broken. There's scarcely a mark on the flesh. Whoever killed him knew exactly what he was doing," Gaius informed the King.

"Earlier this evening, an intruder was spotted in the lower town," Leon informed the King. It took every bit of willpower for Merlin, Isabel and Gwaine not to exchange glances, or react at all.

"Then I fear it's true, Odin has sent an assassin to kill Arthur, and if not Arthur then Genevieve."

"An assassin?" Merlin questioned, having not been part of the meeting in the throne room just two days earlier since he had been riding out with Arthur and then helping the prince sneak back into Camelot.

"Have you any word from Arthur since he left for the north border?" Uther questioned the serving boy.

"No. None," Merlin assured the King.

"With this assassin in Camelot, we must be thankful Arthur isn't here. Search the entire town. I want the assassin found before Arthur returns," Uther ordered Leon before turning to face Gwaine. "I want guards on Genevieve at all times, even when you are with her. She is to be nowhere she can't be easily protected, especially with her condition." A pained look passed over Gwaine's face that no one noticed, seeing as how all their thoughts were occupied with the assassin.

After the twins had left for the night, Gwen and Arthur were sitting there talking. "So, do I have any more annoying habits you wish to tell me about?" Arthur asked after they had both finished laughing after he had recounted the story of Merlin's face when he came in earlier, Arthur noticeably without a shirt.

"No, none," Gwen quickly reassured him.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Arthur pushed. "What is it?" He needled.

"Well," Gwen seemed to hesitate before finally answering, "the truth is.. you snore," she informed him with a small smile.

"I do not snore!" Arthur vehemently denied, taking offense to the mere idea.

"You do!" Gwen insisted. "The first night you were here, I thought a pig had got into the house."

'So, now I'm a pig?" Arthur teased. "Thank you, Guinevere."

"I just mean you sound like a pig," Gwen defended herself, not realizing that Arthur was finally acting like a normal person and teasing his friend. Granted, Arthur was used to being surrounded by guys and used to being brusquer with them, forgetting how to truly act around females. Even when dealing with his sister, he acted like he was just with guys. The only people he truly saw as delicate were Morgana and Isabel. "I think I better stop talking," Gwen stated nearly under her breath. She stood up and began to clear off the table.

"I'll do that," Arthur told her a bit forcefully as he began to grab the bowls from Gwen's hands. She gave him a small smile as she sat back down, seeing the change that Arthur had been boasting about happening actually taking place.

"It was a very good meal, Arthur. I quite surprised," Gwen said, holding her breath to see just how much the prince really had changed.

"You can thank Isabel. She showed me how to make it. I can kill a chicken from a thousand paces, but cooking anything from it escapes me. She was gracious enough to show me a simple meal that I can make even when away from the castle for extended periods of time. She is just… Incredible."

"Well, I suppose having magic would make her incredible," Gwen said, grinning at the Prince's grin as he thought of the young sorceress.

"Even before I knew she had magic, I thought she was incredible," Arthur stated,

Suddenly, the door to Gwen's house smashed open as Merlin barged into the small house breathlessly. "Arthur! There's an assassin in Camelot! He's here to kill you!" Isabel, in a much calmer manner but still breathless after having chased after her panic stricken brother, ducked under his arm into Gwen's house. She saw the dishes sitting nearby and began to clean them. Merlin stared at his sister incredulously by how calm she was acting, as if what they saw and heard wasn't earth shattering, when it obviously was to him. He looked over at Arthur and, unsurprisingly, saw a lack of panic in the Prince's face and eyes.

"I knew there was an assassin after me, why should I be surprised that he came here looking for me?" Arthur questioned Merlin.

With a roll of his eyes, Merlin began telling Gwen and Arthur what had happened since he and his sister had left Gwen's just an hour earlier. "The assassin killed a guard. Your father said Odin-"

"Sent him, yes. Genevieve mentioned something like that," Arthur stated, looking at Merlin who looked at him like he had lost his mine for the complete lack of concern.

"Why would Odin want you dead?" Gwen asked, showing the correct amount of concern from Merlin's perspective.

"Because I killed his son," Arthur told the room, which quickly fell silent, even Isabel stopped washing dishes. Arthur sat down at the table, avoiding looking at everyone. "Odin's son challenged me to a fight. I had no quarrel with him. I asked him to withdraw," Arthur all but pleaded at that line, looking at Isabel, hoping that she didn't see him as the monster that he saw himself as in this moment. When he didn't see any judgment in her eyes, he continued, "Perhaps he felt he had to prove himself. I can still see his face. He looked so scared."

Isabel laid a comforting hand on the prince, seeing how distraught he was. "You can't blame yourself," she murmured, so softly he almost missed it, but was glad that he hadn't, smiling at the thought that she didn't hate him.

"No one but us and your sister knows where you are. If the assassin can't find you, he can't kill you," Merlin tried to reassure the Prince.

Arthur turned to look at Gwen, making sure that he didn't lose contact with Isabel. "May I continue to stay here?" He asked of the young woman.

"Of course, for as long as you need," Gwen assured him.

"Thank you. I'll sleep on the floor tonight," Arthur told her valiantly.

"No, have my bed. You need to be well rested for the tournament tomorrow."

"I'll not hear of it. Good night, Guinevere," Arthur told her, standing up to make his point.

"Good night," Gwen told the collected group before heading to the small, cornered off room where her bed was located.

Arthur turned to the two siblings. "Do either of you know a spell that could help me sleep better on the floor?" At the shake of their heads he sighed. "Would either of you mind fetching my mattress from my quarters and bringing it here?"

"And how would you suggest they carry it?" A familiar voice asked. The three looked over at the door and saw Gwaine standing there with a smug grin on his face. Isabel gave a small smile to the man she "served" and looked over at Arthur, watching his expression.

"Gwaine, what are you doing here?"

"Your sister is asleep, which she has been needing anyways. She told me to come down here before she fell asleep to make sure you weren't trying to cheat your way out of the bet, Arthur."

Everyone in the room exchanged small grins. Merlin and Isabel stood up and started to make their way to the door. Gwaine nodded at them as they passed by before turning his attention to Arthur. Once the door was firmly closed he spoke to his brother-in-law in whispers so faint no one could hope to eavesdrop on them.

The next morning was a hum of activity all around Camelot, as everyone prepared for the final day of the tournament. Gwaine kissed his wife good-bye, promising to be back as soon as the tournament ended to tell her all about it. Isabel and Merlin were helping Arthur and William get ready, while Gwen was waiting in the stands for the final match to start. And one person was watching Arthur intently as he made his way to the tournament grounds.

As soon as Uther was seated, the two competitors took the field and everyone held their breath. They watched as the two horses began their charges towards each other and the lances made contact. Cheers rose from the crowd as the competition continued. No one noticed that the two on the horses were riding differently than yesterday, or, if they did notice, just assumed that both of the riders were sore from the tournament. They turned to face each other again for another pass and ran at full tilt towards each other. A hit landed and the other didn't, causing the rider to fall off their horse and effectively break their neck. Gaius and Isabel rushed forwards to check on the jouster, having some of the knights carefully carry him off the field towards the medic tent. The other rider rode off the field and back to their tent, where three very worried people were sitting.

The rider took off their helmet to reveal long, flowing hair spilling out of the confines of the helmet. Arthur jumped up from where he had been sitting. "How could you have done that, Genevieve? That was stupid!"

"I did what I had to, Arthur, to protect you from what would have been certain death. The assassin took the place of Sir Alinor and would have killed you."

"He would have killed you! He didn't know that you tied me up! He thought he was facing me!"

Genevieve scoffed before tossing her helmet at her brother. "Go out and show all your people who you are," she coldly replied before looking over at William and Merlin who were both sitting in the corner in awe of what the Princess had just done. Arthur followed his sister's gaze and found that his eyes were drawn to William.

"Go and collect the trophy," he told the scared man.

"I thought this was going to be your moment of glory?" His sister asked him, shooting him a side look.

"Perhaps this is a time for humility. Especially since I wasn't the one who won the final match of the tournament," he gave his sister a pointed look. Rather than look sheepish, she just returned the look. They both listened as William received the applause from the crowd and smiled at each other, remembering how it felt when they first participated in tournaments, with or without their father's permission. Genevieve made her way back to the castle, cloaked in an inconspicuous cloak that allowed her to sneak through the tunnels beneath Camelot back to her room.

Arthur made his way back to Camelot's castle, trying to think of an appropriate way to deal with the fact that the assassin was dead. He managed to tell his father that he was attacked on the way back to Camelot and disposed of the assassin easily, which wasn't a full lie. He made his way to Morgana's room to get her and Gwen and escort them to Genevieve and Gwaine's chambers.

They all gathered in the sitting room, with all but Genevieve and Gwaine looking happy at the results of the tournament. Arthur finally looked over at his sister and brother-in-law and saw how despondent they truly looked. He gave his sister a small smile, knowing what was upsetting her.

"Gen, I thought you were unable to participate in the tournament? Why did you take Arthur's place?" Morgana asked her foster sister.

Genevieve and Gwaine exchanged looks before Genevieve stood up and excused herself, making her way to her bedroom to escape from the questioning looks from all around the room. She firmly closed the door behind her, and not a sound was heard from her by the others. Gwaine looked at their friends and briefly told them that Genevieve had lost the baby. She should have still been resting, but wanted to protect Arthur.

Everyone's heads turned when they heard the door to the bedroom open and saw Genevieve emerged, dressed in a simple gown and cloak that could almost disguise her as a servant. She looked around the room before telling them not to worry, she would be back soon. She just had a few errands to run real quick.

She made her way through the town and out the gate to the surrounding forest. She looked around to make sure she wasn't going to be followed and started walking deeply into the forest.


End file.
